Twilight Priestess: Revised Edition
by Angel Girl5
Summary: Hey everyone! Like the title says, this is the revised version of Twilight Priestess. The original is still up for those of you who liked it. Please read it and let me know what you think!
1. Prologue

AN: Hey everyone! Like I mentioned before, I did some revising and I am now posting the new work. A lot of it will be the same, but I hope you enjoy what I did do different. Just a bit of fair warning! I did take out the hot and heavy stuff. If any of you little pervs (you know who I'm talking about!) want me to put it back in, let me know and I will try to work something in. Hope you enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own LoZ!

* * *

The rain beat down upon the land in such a way it felt as though shards of glass were attempting to break through skin. The lightning angrily flashed through the sky as bright as day. The thunder roared so loudly that it deafened the cries of the injured and dying. On this night, the spiritual, the mortals, and the demonic banded together in a common goal, to rid the planet of Naraku. All who had in some way been connected the dark spider were there.

Among the many who gathered, there were those who had been fighting him since his birth. The half-dog demon Inuyasha, who lost his love, the priestess Kikyo, due to jealousy, and was sealed for 50 years. The Buddhist monk Miroku, who carries a cursed wind-tunnel in his right hand, given to his grandfather by Naraku and passed down from father to son, eventually taking their lives. The Demon Slayer Sango, wife of Miroku, whose younger brother was turned into a living puppet and her village massacred. Kirara the Fire Cat, faithful companion to Sango. And finally, the Guardian of the Shikon no Tama, the Shinto priestess Higurashi Kagome. In the two years since she had fallen through the old well on her family's shrine, she has seen love, hope, death and destruction. Now 17, she is no longer the weak little girl who could barely hold a bow. Now she is a warrior trained in the arts of swordplay and few other weapons by Sesshomaru, Inuyasha's elder half-brother and Lord of the Western lands. Her spiritual powers reached their full potential with the help of Miroku and Kaede, Kikyo's younger sister. With the threat of Naraku growing, Kagome made the hard decision to seal the well, her only link to her family, almost a year ago.

On this day, after two years of searching and fighting, the final battle is raging. The clashing of human swords against fangs and claws of Naraku's army could barely be heard above the storm. Fighters from both sides were covered in the brown of the earth and the red of blood. Except for one. Only one stood outside the fighting, protected by his wall of useless minions. Smiling as he took in the destruction caused by both sides. His eyes, as red as the blood beginning to cover the ground honed in on one individual. The figure was a woman who stood in the midst of the chaos. With a sword in hand, she fought through many foes, trying to reach the dark half-demon. He frowned when he noticed that Kagome was making her way toward him, with the Dog brothers beside her.

With his focus solely on the trio, he failed to sense the holy men and women coming from behind. A glow coming from the ground beneath him caused him to look down, his eyes widened in surprise, and then narrowed in anger. He turned to rid himself of the fool who dare try to seal him within a barrier, but was met with four priestess' with bows drawn and six monks chanting the spell to set the barrier. He paused for only a moment, but that was all they needed to trap him where he stood. The flash of light caused all who were fighting to stop and see what had happened. The sight raised the spirits of his enemies, and caused fear within his "allies".

The remainders of Naraku's forces were quickly disposed of, leaving the evil masterminded spider alone in his fate. But, first things first. Using her power, Kagome called the piece of the Shikon that Naraku held back to her. With that done, the signal was given to shrink the barrier, slowly and painfully purifying Naraku till not even ashes remained. With the portion of the jewel safely in her palm, she took her own shards and fused the two together, finally purifying the sacred jewel. For a moment nothing happened, which caused everyone to relax. But slowly, the jewel began to glow, getting brighter every second.

"What the hell is wrong with that damn thing?" "I don't know Inuyasha." replied the nervous miko. Suddenly the broke. But not into shard form like before, now it was as dust, swirling around Kagome. "Kagome-chan," shouted Sango. "You're fading!" Kagome was becoming scared as she watched her friends try to break through the dust to get to her, but were powerless stop whatever was happening. The swirling dust began to move faster, its glow became brighter until a flash of light erupted, causing all to turn their heads away to shield themselves from the light. As the light died, the only thing left where the Guardian of the Jewel stood was her sword and bow. Kagome was gone from they're world.


	2. The Castle Dungeon

AN: Here's another chapter, enjoy!

Disclaimer: See previous chapter!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

* * *

 **There has to be some way to get this damn chain off!**

A large wolf with tribal markings along his fur continued to pull at his chain until a sound caught his attention. Turning he saw a black and green imp with bright orange hair and a strange mask hiding one of her red eyes. Seeing as how she looks like that monster that had held him by his throat, he began growling at her.

"Ooh, aren't you scary," the imp taunted. "Eeh hee, are you sure you want to be doing that? Snarling and glaring at me?" She paused to listen to him growl a bit more. "Well, that's too bad," she mock sighed. "I was planning on helping you…if you were nice." This caught his attention and he stopped growling. "That's much better," she laughed. You humans are obedient to a fault. Oops, but you aren't human anymore, are you? You're a beast!" He growled at her for mocking his current form. "There, there," she placated. "You be a good boy and calm down, no need to bite."

He watched as she formed a red ball in her hands. As she quickly pulled her hands apart, his chain broke in half.

"You look kind of surprised," she laughed. "So! I bet you're wondering, where exactly are we? Well, I'll make you a deal! If you can make it over here, I'll tell you." She then looked briefly behind him. "You may as well wake your cell mate and bring them along too."

Link tilted his head at her. **What cell mate?** He looked behind himself and saw another wolf lying on the stone floor. He noticed that whatever chain had been there broke when the imp severed his own. Using his nose, he started prodding the other wolf, trying to wake them.

 **Hey, wake up.**

Watching impatiently from outside, the small imp heard him whine and growl at the smaller wolf, not understanding what he was saying. She began to smile as the other wolf began to move.

 _ **Ow,**_ the wolf complained. _**My head.**_

Link's ears perked in surprise to hear a feminine voice ghost though his head. Intrigued with this new discovery, he laid himself down so that he was nose to nose with the female. Her eyes slowly opened, and blue met amber. He saw her blink a few times before widening in fear.

 _ **A wolf!**_

She quickly jumped to her feet and backed away from the larger wolf, not yet noticing her own changes. Feeling the wall behind made her realize that she was not going anywhere, so she kept her terrified eyes on the wolf. Hearing the smaller female start whining, Link slowly got up and walked toward her. Seeing him come nearer caused her to shut her eyes and tuck her head, waiting for the large animal to do whatever it was he was going to do to her. When nothing happened she opened one of her eyes and saw it sitting closely in front of her. She slowly brought her head up and opened her other eye, just staring at him as it stood and slowly walked towards her and poked their noses together.

 **Are you alright?**

The female gave start when she heard a man's voice in her head. She looked around for the owner but saw no one but the wolf.

 _ **Did…did you just speak to me?**_

She saw the wolf nod at her.

 **I'm sorry I scared you. I guess that since you're a wolf also, we can understand each other.**

The female blinked a few times.

 _ **What do you mean?**_

She then looked down to see the body of a female wolf, instead of a teenage girl. Jumping up she looked down as she head a jingling sound. Around her front left leg was a shackle with a few chain links still attached to the cuff.

 **By your reaction, I would have to that you weren't born a wolf.**

The small female just shook her head.

 **So we are both trapped in a wolf's body then** , he gave a sighed.

Hearing a bored yawn coming from the right of them, they saw the imp.

"If you're both quite finished," she said. "Why don't you get out of there before someone comes looking for you."

 _ **Someone's grumpy.**_

The larger wolf gave a snort and gave the female a nudge toward the bars.

 **She may be grumpy, but she did free us and is helping us escape, so move along miss.**

The female simply nodded before responding.

 _ **Kagome.**_

Link looked at her and tilted his head in confusion.

 _ **My name is Kagome.**_

The bigger wolf nodded in acknowledgment.

 **I'm Link.**

With introductions out of the way, they began looking for a way out of their cell. Looking closely at a broken crate in the corner, Kagome noticed a large hole under the bars. Looking toward Link at the other end she called to him.

 _ **I think I found a way out. If we break this box and dig a bit, we should be able to get out.**_

 **Ok, let me break this crate then you can go first since you're smaller and won't have to dig as much.**

With that said, he rammed the box with his head, shattering it into many little pieces. Getting a better look at the hole, they discovered it was a bit deeper than they thought. Kagome went first, followed closely by Link. Once they were out, Link felt a sudden pressure on his back. Looking over his shoulder, he saw the imp making herself at home.

"Ok, since you two took your time talking about who knows what, we need to hurry, that means you have to stay quiet and do everything that I say, just like a couple of servants."

This of course earned her a couple of growls, but they didn't seem to faze her. After getting through a tricky waterway, they finally came upon the roof, only to see the world covered in an unnatural twilight.

"So we were finally able to get out," the imp looked up and smiled. "Isn't the black cloud of twilight beautiful today?" She looked down and the confused wolves. "Do you know where this is? You still don't know?" She seemed to find this fact amusing. "Look, there's someone I want to introduce you to…but we need to go to that tower to do it!"

They quickly made it to up the tower and were soon faced with an elaborate door that was slightly opened. The space was big enough for a dog to get through. Upon entering the room, they saw a cloaked figure staring at the window. Not sure what it was, Link stepped in front of the female protectively and began to growl. The imp on his back gave a giggle. Startled, the figure turned towards them. The part of the face they could see indicated that the figure was human. This caused Link to stop growling.

"Midna?"

Both wolves were surprised at hearing such a soft feminine voice.

"You remember my name," the imp mocked. "What an honor for me…"

This began a conversation in which the cloaked figure was revealed to be Zelda, the princess of Hyrule. She told them how their world came to be covered in Twilight, and who was responsible for it happening. The princess glanced out the window.

"Time grows short," she said. "The guard will be making his rounds soon. You must leave here, quickly"

With that, the trio took off down the stairs but was soon stopped by Midna. Looking ahead, they saw a light coming up the stairs.

"Not that way," she hissed. "The guards coming! Boy, he's prompt."

Looking for another way out, she saw an opened window right above them.

They followed Midna's directions across the rooftop just a bit before she stopped. Turning around, she began speaking to Link.

"Do you understand where we are now?" She asked. "I guess a promise is a promise, so I'll take you back to where you first tumbled into twilight…" The imp paused. "But…are you really sure you should be going back? Aren't you forgetting anything important?"

She turned into two of the children from Link's village, which were taken by monsters. Seeing as how she had the male wolfs attention she kept the form of the girl and continued.

"Do you want to save them? Well, in that case, little Midna would be happy to help you!" She then changed back into her own form. "But…" she said. "Well, you'll have to be my servant…and like a servant, you'd have to do exactly as I say."

With not much choice, he agreed.

 _ **I want to come too!**_

Link looked at the smaller wolf in surprise.

 **But you don't know them, why would you want to help?**

 _ **It doesn't matter. Innocent people are in danger and I want to help. Besides, I have no idea where I am or how I got here. You helped me get out of that cell, now I want to help you find you friends.**_

He just stared at her shocked as she came up beside him, indicating to the imp that she was coming too. With that, the three disappeared from the rooftop of Hyrule Castle.


	3. The Adventure Begins

Disclaimer: Still don't own it!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

 _Animal_

 _Spirit_

* * *

The peace surrounding the sacred spring of Ordon Province was disrupted as a type of warp hole appeared in the sky. From the portal fell millions of black particles. As these particles fell towards the land, they began to bind themselves together, trying to form a shape. The warp hole closed as the last of the strange matter fell to the ground, and left behind were two wolves.

The pair looked around at the sun filled clearing, taking a moment to feel the difference between the warm feel of the sun and the cool caress of twilight, before turning their attention toward each other.

Blink

Blink

 _ **Are we still…**_

 **I would have thought…**

Their musings were cut short as a figure rose from the shadows.

"Oh, that's right. I forgot to mention one thing…though you may have left the darkened realm, you haven't transformed back to your former selves…and won't anytime soon! Now why could that be? Eeh hee. See you later!"

With a graceful turn, she disappeared. Both wolves just blinked at the spot where the little imp had just been.

 **I have a feeling that little imp is going to drive me crazy before long.**

Kagome looked at him. _**You mean she hasn't yet?**_

Link just groaned flopped to the ground in exhaustion. This received a giggle from the she-wolf, as she made her way to the edge of the spring.

 _ **Well, I don't know about you, but I for one am going to take advantage of the fact we're at this spring and take a quick dip. Who knows what got stuck in my fur while we were crawling around that dungeon.**_

Link just rested his large head on his paws and followed her with his eyes.

He lifted his head and tilted it in confusion as she stopped and just stared down into the water, almost sadly. Lifting himself up, he walked up next to her and looked into the water himself. The image of two wolves looked back up at them. He then took the time to look over them. His form was definitely masculine; his size alone was proof of that. The build of his new body was large and muscular, intended for fighting and protection. His fur was black with a seemingly dark green shine to it. On his forehead was a white patch of fur in the shape of a diamond with a dot in the middle. A lightning bolt was attached to the bottom of the diamond that ran down to the middle of his muzzle. He also noticed that his ears were still pierced.

The form of the female beside him was smaller in comparison to his own. Her body was slender and a bit shorter, more for speed than power. Her fur was the same greenish-black color as his own. The mark on her forehead was different though. While it was still white, the shape was not that of a single, large diamond, but it looked to be four smaller, thin diamonds, each pointing in different direction (the same mark Midoriko has on her forehead). He noticed that her ears held the same silver loops as his own, but much smaller and more feminine looking. The most notable difference between the two was the colors of their eyes. While his were the color of the bright mid-day sky of summer, hers were more of an amber shade of brown.

 **In fact** , he thought. **The color could be mistaken for honey.**

The soft sound of her voice interrupted his observations.

 _ **Are we going to be stuck like this forever?**_

He was silent for a moment.

 **I honestly don't know.**

Seeing her ears droop made him feel a little bad for not having the answer. Looking back at the spring, his eyes took on a mischievous glint as he remembered why it was that she came down here in the first place.

Kagome noticed him walk into the spring, but was more focused on her new body. Until a small wave of water hit her, that is. After shaking her head to rid herself of some of the water, she looked at the culprit. There stood Link, with his nose dripping with water and his slightly wagging.

 _ **What in the …?**_

 **I believe you said that you wanted a bath.**

Kagome could hear the playfulness in his voice. She got down into a crouched position and gave a playful growl, ready to 'attack'.

 _ **I'm going to make you regret that.**_

He heard the underlying teasing in her voice and got himself into a defensive crouch.

 **Let's see you try.**

With the challenge issued, Kagome sprung into the water, intending to knock him down. As it turns out, Link was right. Her body was built for speed.

 **Shit!**

He barely dodged out of her way as she leaped towards him. The game continued until the afternoon sun began its descent. Each wolf laughing and knocking the other into the spring. It was two soaked, but light hearted, wolves that emerged from the spring.

Link looked at the drenched wolf beside him, glad to see a sparkle of happiness in her eyes, before a twinkle of mischief returned to his own. Spreading his paws to stabilize himself, he began to vigorously shake the water off his body. Hearing a startled yelp come from the right he looked and saw a glaring Kagome, who looked wetter than before. He just blinked in an attempt to seem innocent. He chuckled when she rolled her eyes and walked a bit farther before shaking herself dry as well. Seeing the dying sun shining on a patch of grass near the natural earthen wall of the spring, Kagome laid herself down on her belly with her head over one of her paws, and closed her eyes, just enjoying the feel of the sun warming her fur. She heard Link make his way toward her resting spot, and felt him lay beside her. She soon felt a slight weight settle itself upon the upper part of her back. Picking up her head, she saw that Link had placed his head and one of his paws there. He just opened up the eye that was facing her and then shut it. The universal sign of 'I am comfortable and not moving, so deal with it'. Rolling her own eyes, she settled back down, looking over the water as the sun set.

Beginning to wind down, Kagome's thoughts began to wander. Soon she began thinking of the events leading up to where she was at that moment. She wondered why the jewel reacted as it did, and why she was in some new land in the form of the wolf. Soon her thoughts came to the wolf currently using her as a pillow.

 _ **He helped me get out of that dungeon when he didn't have to,**_ she thought. _**And he cheered me up when I was sad.**_

 _ **Hey, Link?**_

 **Hmm?**

 _ **Thank you for taking me with you when you escaped from that dungeon.**_

 **It wasn't a problem** , he said. **But what were you doing in there anyway?**

 _ **I have no idea,**_ she admitted. _**The last thing I remember was my friends and I had just finished fighting for our lives against a powerful enemy we were fighting to protect a powerful artifact when said artifact let off a bright light that knocked me out. When I woke up, there was this big fuzzy face in front of me.**_

 **An artifact?**

 _ **A stone called the Jewel of Four Souls.**_

 **A piece of jewelry sent you here?**

 _ **Try a piece of jewelry that has the power to grant any wish while at the same time twisting that wish to its most unpleasant form.**_

 **Oh** , he said. **Why were you protecting it?**

 _ **Myself or in general?**_

 **Yourself.**

 _ **Where I'm from, I was a Priestess,**_ she explained. _**A holy maiden whose sole purpose was to guard that cursed little bauble.**_

 **Sounds like you didn't like it.**

 _ **I saw so much death and destruction because of that thing.**_

They lied there in silence for a bit before Link caught something she had said.

 **You said 'was'.**

 _ **Hm?**_

 **You said you** were **a Priestess, like you're not anymore.**

 _ **That's right.**_

 **How do you know that?**

 _ **As a Priestess, I had special powers,**_ she explained. _**I could purify demons and heal wounds. When I had my powers, I could feel a type of warmth within me.**_

 **And now you don't?**

 _ **That and when you woke me up I tried to purify you and nothing happened,**_ she admitted.

Link's head shot up and his ears perked as he regarded the female before him.

 **Wait, you did what?!**

 _ **It's not like it worked,**_ she defended herself.

Link just continued to stare at her.

 **So you're basically a normal person now, right?**

Kagome lifted her head and snapped her jaws at him.

 **Ok, maybe not so normal.**

She sighed in frustration.

 _ **If I was human, the best I could probably do is use a bow and wield a sword, now I just have teeth and claws.**_

Kagome laid her head back down, Link following soon after. Listening to the sounds of the forest as it gently lulled the two wolves to sleep.

It felt as if they had just shut their eyes as the silence of the night was shattered for the two beasts, thanks to a certain little imp.

"Eeh hee hee," Came a formless laugh.

The sudden noise startled Kagome, who jumped to her feet. Since Link was still using her as a pillow, he was knocked onto his back and let out a startled yelp. Head snapping at the sound, Kagome saw Link roll onto his feet and walk towards her, his bottom jaw moving up and down from where she hit him. When he came up beside her, she sat down and nuzzled his jaw.

 _ **I'm so sorry! Are you ok? I didn't mean to hit you, Midna just startled me.**_

He rubbed his forehead against her cheek.

 **I'm ok, but I am ready to bite her for sneaking up on us like that.**

"Aww, how cute!"

Both wolves turned annoyed glances toward the imp, who really didn't seem to care.

"What," she began. "Did you think I'd disappeared?"

Link's eye narrowed and Kagome's head tilted, both in confusion. Midna just giggled in a secretive way.

"Listen, there's another thing I forgot to tell you. Don't think you two can just run of and save your friends, because you can't. You'll need someone from the Twilight to take you back through the door...like me! So you really have no choice but to do what I say. Right now, I want a sword and shield that'll suit me. So what do you plan to do? While you're her dawdling, the twilight continues to expand. So hurry up!"

With that, she once again disappeared back into Link's shadow.

Link shook his head, exasperated, before walking out of the spring with Kagome coming up beside him.

 _ **Where are we going to find a sword and shield for Midna?**_

 **My village is just up ahead. One of the villagers has an old shield and another is a master swordsman, we'll just have to borrow them for now.**

They continued to walk in a comfortable silence until they came to a small grove with a house and a dummy used for sword practice. There was also one other thing in the clearing, something that wasn't supposed to be there. Kagome became a little nervous when Link began growling and moved into an attack position.

 **Stay back!**

 _ **What is that?**_

 **That's a Bulblin, it's one of the creatures that attacked and took my friends. Just stay here while I get rid of it.**

Without warning, Link took off toward the creature that noticed him too late. With just a few hits, the bulblin was no more.

 **I wonder what that thing was going all the way out here.**

 _ **Are they not common around here?**_

 **They've never come this close to the village before.**

With a gentle nudge, Link began to lead the way down to the village proper.

 _Wait!_

They turned to look for the voice that called to them.

 _Over here!_

Link looked up the ladder leading to his front door, and saw a squirrel sitting at the very top of the ladder. He beckoned Kagome to follow him with his head.

 **Did you call out to us?**

 _Yes_ , the squirrel replied. _I don't what you've come here to do, but if you're going into town be careful!_

Kagome tilted her head.

 _ **Why do we need to be careful?**_

 _THEY came and made the village and forest a mess…they kidnapped the children from the village. He paused to look at the two. But your different…you're not a bad thing, are you? I can tell because he smells like the trees of Ordon and you are with him…if you run into any trouble, try talking to the animals in town. We animals understand each other so you'll be fine. Good luck!_

The little squirrel scampered away after giving his warning.

 _ **They must have been taken while we were still in the castle.**_

 **How do you figure?**

 _ **I'm pretty sure we would have seen, if not heard, a large group pass by us with bunch of children.**_

Link nodded his head in agreement.

 **You're probably right.**

 _ **I know I am,**_ she replied jokingly before turning serious once more. _**Why don't you go and get the sword and shield with Midna and I'll stay here and ask the animals if they know in which direction the children were taken.**_

 **Sounds like a plan to me,** Link said before bounding down the path toward the village.

After watching him go, Kagome began conversing with the local wildlife. She had been conversing with a bird that flew when Link came up beside her.

 **I got the sword and shield, Midna is holding them with her magic. Did you learn anything about the children?**

 _ **According to the bird I was talking to, they were taken outside of the forest before veering right. I'm sorry, that's all I could find out.**_

Link shook his head.

 **That's actually a pretty good start,** he said. **That means they went in the direction of Kakariko Village.**

 _ **You know it?**_

 **I've never been there myself,** he admits. **But I know where it is from the maps I studied when I was visiting Rusl.**

 _ **Then let's go!**_

With a plan formed, the two wolves began to trek the road leading out of the forest. As they passed the spring they had been at earlier, and voice echoed through their heads.

 _Wait…_

 _Come… to my spring…_

 _You have… been transformed…by the power…of shadow…_

 _Come…to me."_

 _Giving each other uncertain looks, the cautiously entered the spring._

 _Beware…a shadow being…it approaches…_

Suddenly stones began falling from the sky, forming a circle around the two before glowing red and creating wall between the stones.

 **What is going on?**

 _ **It's a barrier, and it looks like it's designed to keep us in.**_

 **For what?**

As soon as he asked, a giant black creature dropped from the sky in front of them.

 _ **I might be wrong, but I'm thinking it might be for him.**_

Without waiting, the creature lunged. Using the speed of their new bodies, they were able to evade the first swipe. Using their claws and teeth, the cut into the body of the shadow creature many time, but he would not fall. Using her speed and a nearby rock, Kagome launched herself onto the creatures back and clamp down with her teeth. As it swung back and forth, trying to get the she-wolf off, it reached back and caught one of her legs. Not caring about its own pain, the creature tore Kagome off his back, along with a good chuck of its own flesh, and flung her to the ground.

Link watched in horror as she bounced once from the impact, but did not get back up.

 _ **Kagome!**_

He quickly ran to her fallen form. When he reached her, he could barely make out the beating of her heart. Link leaped onto the monsters chest and began clawing and biting with the fervor of a wild animal. The blood and flesh of the giant monster flew around the spring, coating the area. With one final swipe of his paw, Link ended the creature's life. As soon as he touched back on the ground, he immediately ran to his fallen companion's side. Soon the spring began to glow a golden color, causing the remains of the monster to disappear. Looking back down at Kagome, he saw her wounds begin to heal and her heartbeat become stronger. He smiled in his mind as he saw her eyes slowly open. She lifted herself up and tried to stand, but her legs were still a bit weak, so she just lay where she was.

 **Are you alright?**

She snorted.

 _ **I feel like a doll that was just thrown down, hard.**_

Link just chuckled. Kagome looked behind Link and her eyes widened. Turning to see what she did, Link felt his own eyes widen at the sight of a large Ordon goat. Made entirely of light, with a sphere held within its antler.

 _O brave youths…_

 _I am one of the four light spirits that protect Hyrule at the behest of the God. I am Ordon._

 _The black beast you have slain was a shadow being. It had come to seize the power of the light I wield._

 _My brethren in Hyrule have already had their light stolen by these fell beasts. The entire kingdom has been reduced to a netherworld ruled by the cursed powers of darkness._

 _The blight will not stop with Hyrule. Before long, the entire world of light will fall into the hands of the king who rules the twilight._

 _To save this land from the king of twilight, the lost light must be recovered._

 _The three light spirits that have lost their light must be revived._

 _There is but two who can revive them and redeem this land…_

 _You._

 _You still have not discovered your true power…_

 _Those transformed by twilight usually cannot recover their original forms…_

 _Unless…If you were revive the light spirit, you may find the means to regain you other state of_

 _being…_

The light of the spirit dimmed, leaving the spring as it was before. The two wolves just sat there, staring at the space where the spirit had just been.

 _ **You heard him too, right?**_

 **You mean when he said that we were chosen by the gods to save the world, or when he said we can change back into our own bodies if we help the other spirits?**

 _ **Both.**_

 **Then yes, I did.**

Kagome jumped up, her tail wagging.

 _ **So what are we waiting for, let's go!**_

They both ran as fast as they could out of the spring and towards the door to the twilight. All too soon, they came upon to black and orange door. The door to twilight. It was then that Midna appeared.

"Hey...Look Link…The Faron Woods that you know so well…they're now covered in twilight. You might not be able to come back here, but…Do you still want to go?"

Both wolves nodded yes. Seeing as she had their agreement, Midna floated up and into the door. Suddenly a large orange hand popped out and grabbed them, pulling them into the twilight.


	4. The Spirit of Faron Woods

AN: Hey everyone! I'm glad everyone is enjoying the story so far! If you see anything I need to fix, or if there is something I've forgotten, let me know and I'll try to fix it! Hope you like the new chapter!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

 _Spirit_

Disclaimer: Still no own!

* * *

Link landed harshly onto the ground. He lets out a startled yelp as something hits him as he tried to get up.

 _ **Owww…**_

 **Oh** , he thought. **It was just Kagome.**

He stood back up and paused, making sure nothing else was going to come out and hit him. Deciding it was safe; he walked over to the she wolf, still on the ground, and began nudging her with his head.

 **Come on Kagome, you need to get up so we can get moving.**

She half-heartedly tried to hit him with her paw.

 _ **Tell the world to stop spinning so fast first, and then I'll get up.**_

If he was in his original body, his eyebrow would be raised.

 **If you don't get up, how will the light spirit change you back?**

This caused her to rise to her feet rather quickly.

 _ **Lead the way.**_

The male wolf just shook his head and turned to follow the path toward the spring, Kagome trailing beside him. He had only walked a few steps before grunting as a small weight fell onto his back and stay there. Having an idea of who it was, he turned his head and growled at the little imp. He stopped growling as he stared at her. Here was the same little imp who asked him to fetch a shield and sword, with said shield over her face like a mask, and swinging a sheathed sword.

"Hmm! So these are the weapons you use in your world? You really think this thing can slay the creatures of twilight? …Well, I won't use these, but I'll hang on to them for you!"

Using some of her magic, she caused the weapons to disappear.

"All right, a promise is a promise…I trust you enough to help. In exchange for my help though, I need you to gather some things for me. Look, I can't tell you all the details now, but it'll be easy, trust me."

 _ **If it's so easy why does she need us?**_

Link silently agreed.

"Enough about that. Do you hear that noise?"

Perking their ears, Link and Kagome heard a low and sorrowful tune. The looked at each other, silently asking if the other knew what that sound was.

"It's the lamentation of the spirit that had its light stolen. Where in the world could it be? Eee hee! Better get going, don't you think? Don't blame me for you world's fate if you don't hurry up and find that light!"

Turning back onto the path, they saw the spring lie just ahead. They began walking. But something was bothering Link.

 **Kagome…why did she ask for a shield and sword when she obviously doesn't know how to use it?**

 _ **Why are you asking me?**_

 **Don't women usually know what other women are thinking?**

… _ **Link…**_

The fact that she sounded very calm made him hesitate.

 **...Yes?**

 _ **If that spirit is able to change us back, you are going to find yourself hurting.**_

He decided it would be safer for him if he took a few steps away from her, just in case. Walking over a small hill, they saw the spring just on the other side of the clearing they just entered. Feeling a bit playful, Kagome took off through the clearing.

 _ **Race you!**_

It took a few seconds for Link to process what had just happened. When he did, he began running after her.

 **Not fair, we're supposed to start at the same time!**

 _ **It's not my fault you're slow!**_

Because she had a head start, Kagome was already at the other side of the clearing, while Link was just coming to its center. He was forced to stop, however, as the same barrier as before surrounded him.

 _ **Link!**_

He gave an alarmed look in Kagome's direction, images of the previous fight flashed through his head. He relaxed a bit when he was the only one in the barrier; she had run far enough not to get caught in it. His relief was cut short as not one, but three of the shadow beasts fell from the sky.

"Aww…we're penned in again! Pffft! Who do they think they're dealing with? No need to take these little pests on one at a time, right? You can take them all at once! So…You can handle this by yourself, can't you? Good luck! Bye!"

She flew off his back and went over to float beside Kagome.

 **She's out of her mind if she thinks I can fight them all at once** , he thought. **My best bet would be to take the out one at a time. All I have to do is attack them from the front and they should go down easily.**

Acting on his thoughts, he found them easier to deal with than the last time. The first two went down easily enough. As he turned to attack the third however, he was stopped as it let out a piercing wail which hurt his ears. He stared in shock as the two he had already defeated rose to their feet, and they looked mad.

 **What in the name of Din?!**

"What's the hold up? If you leave the last one alive, it's just going to use that shriek to bring the others back!" She floated back over to him and landed on his back. "Listen; let me help you out here! Just move like I tell you! I'll expand my energy. As soon as they're enclosed, I'll release it!"

As per her instructions, as soon as Link saw her energy expand around him, he moved quickly to capture the three creatures in the field. At his nod, Midna released the energy and Link felt himself lunging at them at such a speed, that the last creature had no time to revive his allies. Link watched as they burst into tiny particles and burst into the sky, creating a strange void in the air above them. Looking around, he saw the barrier begin to fade into nothingness. The instant it fell, Kagome ran up and began circling him, looking for any injuries.

 _ **Are you alright? You're not hurt are you?**_

Link squirmed as she rubbed her nose against his side, he was ticklish there.

 **I'm fine, let's go to the spring and see the spirit.**

He saw the other wolf nod, and the two walked side by side into the spring. Stopping in front of a ball of light.

… _Please…be careful. These woods… have changed…_

 _The dark clouds of dusk cover this land. This drape of shadows is called…twilight._

 _In this twilight, those who lived in the light…become as mere spirits…it is a place…where the dark ones and evil creatures dwell._

… _I…am a spirit…of light…_

 _Look…for my light._

 _Retrieve the light stolen by the dark beasts…and keep it…in this vessel._

 _In the shadows of twilight…the dark insect are as…invisible…as normal beings are here. Let me use the last of my power…to reveal the locations of the dark insects…that consumed the light._

 _The dark insects…they are the form taken by evil…once it has latched onto…our scattered light._

 _Mark…these words…Please…look in the places I have marked on your map and recover the Tears of Light from these…insects of darkness..._

Midna pulled the map out of thin air and held it so that all three could look at it.

"Wow, that spirit wasn't kidding. He definitely marked our map; you can even see those little dots moving."

Link was studying the map closely.

"It looks like the bugs form a trail that leads to the temple within the forest."

Seeing Link give her a nod, Midna flew onto his back, map still in hand.

"According to the map, just ahead of here are two of those bugs in front of that tunnel. Remember how you used your senses in the castle? Same thing applies here."

Link nodded and moved to get rid of the bugs. He felt Kagome move beside him, almost hesitantly.

 _ **Are you alright?**_

 **To be completely honest, not really.**

He stopped to look at her.

 **What's wrong?**

Her ears dropped a bit, almost nervously.

 _ **I have this thing about bugs.**_

It took Link a second to understand what she was meant. When he did, he couldn't believe it. He looked at her with wide eyes and perked up ears.

 **You've fought monsters at least three times your size and you're trying to tell me that you're afraid of bugs?**

She pinned her ears back in anger and started growling at him, tears of anger and frustration pooling in her eyes.

 _ **You would be too if you had a good portion of your flesh bitten off by a centipede demon as big as the trees around us, or if a spider demon attempted to kill you and your friends so he could suck the blood from your bodies, and let's not forget how a damn half-spider demon came so close to killing my friends and family!**_

Link reared back in shock. She had told him about the demons she faced in her world.

Figuring out that maybe she needed some time alone, he thought of a plan.

 **Why don't you wait here while I take care of the bugs?**

He saw her ears droop a bit.

 _ **You're leaving me here?!**_

A hint of fear could be heard in her voice.

Link shook his head.

 **I'm just going to get the Tears of Light for the spirit to restore light to the part of the land. As soon as I get the last one, I promise I will come back. If just the thought of the bugs holding them makes you nervous, then looking at one would probably leave you terrified. So I am just asking that you stay here where you will be safe.**

 _ **Ok!**_

 **Don't rush yourself,** he said dryly. **Take your time and think it over.**

 _ **The less evil bugs I have to see, the happier I am. You just be careful, alright?**_

Link nodded in response. Rubbing their cheeks together one more time, Kagome watched Link run into the tunnel before walking back to lay on a grassed spot near the wall surrounding the spring, partially hidden from eyes that may cause her harm, until he returned. After a few minutes of lying in the darkened light, she felt her eyelids grow heavy, and decided that a nap seemed good right about then.


	5. Human Again

AN: I bet you're all surprised to see an update so soon. Have to be honest, I'm surprised, too! I had already made all my little corrections to the story, but then I get an idea, or someone gives me an idea, and I have to re-write a few chapters AGAIN! Not that this is a bad thing, it just means that even when I think I'm done, I find more to do. Anyway, I hope you guys like the changes I've been making and I hope to hear from you in the review box *hint hint*! Enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Nothing has changed since the first chapter.

* * *

Kagome felt as though she had just shut her eyes when a light began to shine through her eyelids, becoming brighter by the second. She also felt her body begin to change. Her eyes snapped open as the realization dawned on her that whatever spell had placed her in this form, was wearing off. The brightness of the light forced her to shut her eyes until it dimmed to a comfortable level. The next time she opened her eyes, she saw the light of day. Looking in the direction of the spring, she saw the light spirit. The spirit was in the form of a long tailed monkey, and he held his ball of light as a cat would hold onto a ball of yarn. She noticed him speaking softly and turned her attention to the middle of the spring, where his voice was directed.

She saw a young man, about her own age, listening to the spirits words. The first thing she noticed was the clothing he wore. Over his form was a dark green tunic that slightly molded over the muscles of his chest, with a white, high collard, shirt to protect it from the cold metal of the chain mail which rested between. Pair of light brown pants, almost beige, were formed loosely over his legs. Thick leather boots adorned his feet and came to rest just below his knees. She took notice of the gauntlets and weapons he wore on his person.

'So he's a warrior,' she thought. 'He definitely has the build for it.'

She then saw a cap, the same color as the tunic, which rested upon a head full of hair the color of golden wheat, with the forelocks in front of his long pointed ears, coming to rest on his shoulders. She wondered why the piercings looked familiar. His skin, from what she could see of it, seemed to be kissed by the sun in a golden color.

As the spirit faded from view, Kagome moved to get up by placing her hands upon the ground.

'Wait,' she thought. 'Hands?' Pushing herself up onto her feet, she looked down at herself, holding her hands so her palms faced her. She wasn't a wolf any longer, but a young woman. Hearing the sound of a blade being removed from its sheath, she looked up with alarm, her eyes resting on the boy still in the spring, who had started to draw his blade. With his head slightly turned in her direction, he seemed to be glaring at her, as if trying to judge if she was friend or foe, with eyes as bright as the sky. Eyes the same color as the wolf she now traveled with. The same eyes as…

"Link?"

Upon hearing the soft, gentle, voice Link began lowering his sword back into its scabbard and turned slowly, studying the young woman before him. Her skin looked soft and had a healthy glow, only a few shades lighter than his own.

'She was Hylian,' he concluded this from the sight of her long ears, which each held a feminine silver loop. On her body she wore a tunic length green kimono, the same color as his tunic, that only had one sleeve. The trim and obi were brown, the colors greatly complimenting her lightly sun-kissed skin. The hem ended about mid-thigh, but there were slits on both sides which stopped at the edge of the obi she wore. Her legs were encased in a pair of lightly colored pants tucked into a pair of low heeled brown boots that came up to just under her knees, the handle of a knife sticking out of her right boot. Her forearms were protected by brown leather bracers. Her hair, black as the midnight sky, was held in a loose braid which rested over her shoulder tied with a ribbon the same color green as her clothing, the tip stopping near her waist. Her bangs fell gracefully over her honeyed, almond shaped, eyes, but not so much as to obstruct her ability to see. Her lips were a soft pink, which rested just below a dainty nose. All in all, she was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever seen, and that included Princess Zelda. Still, something seemed familiar about the girl. It was then he remembered. The voice she spoke with was the same he had heard since waking up in the dungeons of Hyrule Castle, but it was the eyes that would truly tell him.

Kagome watched as he looked her over, trying to figure out who she was, when he began to walk towards her, eyes narrowed in suspicion. Unsure of what he was going to do, she took one step back for every step he took forward. After just a few steps, she found herself trapped, her back pressed against the wall, as Link continued towards her. Soon he was right in front of her. Gently cupping her chin, he tilted her head up so he could see into her slightly fearful eyes, to see if she was who he thought she was. After a few moments of searching, he gave her a gentle smile before wrapping his arms around her waist and brining her body close to his. Not understanding what was going on, Kagome placed her hands on his shoulders, intending to push away until his voice spoke softly in her ear.

"I'm back in one piece."

As water began to lightly pool into her eyes, she fisted her hands and wrapped her arms around his neck while burying her face into the juncture of his neck and shoulder. They stood there a while, just holding onto one another. All too soon, Link began to gently pull away. He gave a light chuckle when he saw her face. With the pad of his thumb, he lightly rubbed away the small trail that began to make its way down one of her cheeks.

"Looks like you are."

He didn't say anything, just gave her a gentle smile before pulling her close again. Kagome simply rested her head on his chest, content with just listening to his heartbeat. When a stray strand of hair, began tickling her nose, she tucked it back behind her long ear.

Her eyes opened in confusion, as she brought her hand back up to her ear. Feeling that something was not right, she decided to go down to the spring to take a look at herself. She just had to get Link to let her go first. Which turns out, wasn't hard at all. She just backed away from him, ignoring his confused look, and walked to the edge of the spring. Seeing the look on her face, he silently followed. He stopped just behind her as she knelt at the spring and looked at her reflection.

So she wasn't imagining it, her ears had changed. In the reflection of the water, she saw Link come beside her and squat down and place his hand on her back worriedly.

"What are you looking at?"

"I was looking at my ears."

This caused Link to raise an eyebrow at her.

"What wrong with them?"

She was still was still running her fingers over her ears as she answered him.

"They're different that the ones I had before."

"They weren't pointed?"

She straightened her back and turned her head to look up at his face.

"No," she said distractedly.

"Well," Link began. "There are technically two types of people in Hyrule. The ones with the round ears are normal humans while the ones with pointed ears are a type of human called Hylian."

"What is the difference?"

"In its most basic form, Hylians are descended from the Goddess Hylia," he explained. "Our ears are pointed so we can hear the gods should they call out to us and most of us can use magic. Most Hylians are part of the nobility and live in Castletown."

"But you have pointed ears and are from Ordon."

"Rusl found me in the woods when I was a baby," he shrugged. "I don't know how I ended up in the forest."

"I'm sorry."

"No reason for you to be."

"…So basically, having pointed ears means your special?"

"If that's the way you want to look at it, then yes."

Kagome started to pat Link's head in a patronizing manner.

"Don't worry," she said with a sweet smile. "Even if you didn't have the ears, I would still think you're special!"

"…You just made fun of me, didn't you," Link asked dryly.

Kagome just smiled up innocently at him.

"Well, well," until she popped back up, that is. Both Link and Kagome turned their attention to her.

"You're the chosen heroes and all that, huh? So THAT'S why you turned into beasts! What a shame…I mean, maybe you'd rather wander as a spirit like the rest of them, totally unaware of what was happening for all eternity…right? Eee hee hee! So…What do you want to do? Do you want to head to that temple?"

Kagome turned a questioning gaze at Link, seeing him nod at Midna.

"Well, isn't that convenient! I was about to head there myself. Hey, look…You want to help you friends, right? The way I see it, maybe they're in the temple, waiting for you to rescue them… Well, good luck, all important heroes! See you later!" And with a laugh, she was gone.

With a sigh, Link stood up. He held out his hand to help Kagome up. Together, they walked out of the spring, and through the tunnel, with Link keeping a firm hold on her hand the whole way. He made sure not to let her see him as he smiled every time she squeaked as a rat or bat came across their path. Kagome was happy to see the light of day peeking through the end of the tunnel. She picked up her pace and tried to drag Link so he would move faster, but that didn't work as well as she had hoped. Instead, they walked out of the cave at his pace, which seemed to have slowed a bit after Kagome tried to get him to hurry up. After getting out of that dark tunnel, Kagome was ready for some conversation.

"Link?" He glanced at her to show that he was listening. "Are we heading to the forest temple you mentioned earlier?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"Because the spirit told me that a dark power rests in that temple, and we will need it to defeat the one who is trying to take over our world."

Kagome thought for a moment. "I'm willing to bet this power is what Midna is looking for."

"You're probably right, but we still need to get it."

Their conversation ended as they came to another tunnel, this time it had a locked gate in front of it.

Kagome turned to look at Link. "How are we going to get in?"

Without answering, he turned and followed another trail. This one led into a clearing. As Kagome looked around, she saw a house and a funny looking guy with an orange afro sitting in front of an unlit fire pit beneath a cooking pot.

The pair walked up toward the man, and Link cleared his throat to get his attention.

"Hunh? So…It's the Ordonian! You seemed familiar, but then your clothes did seem kinda different, and you didn't have this pretty girl with you, so I got thrown off for a second!"

Link didn't like the way Coron looked at Kagome as he called her a 'pretty girl', and if the way she moved closer to him was any indication, neither did she.

Coron didn't seem to notice, so he just continued on.

"Listen…Things have been a little rough around here lately, so you should watch your step, OK. Guy? There are so many monsters now…I got kinda scared and closed off the path to the temple. But…you, guy…you wanna go back there, huh? You sure do look geared up for it…So here is the key. Oh yeah…the woods on the other side of the cave are covered in a really thick fog, so make sure your lantern is full!"

"Thank you for the key," said Link. "How much to fill a jar with oil?"

"20 rupees."

Link paid him as Kagome looked on. After the bottle was filled, it was returned to Link.

"Thank you again, we'll just be on our way."

Coron got bug eyed. "You…You're taking her in there?"

They both gave him confused looks.

"Why shouldn't I go with him," Kagome demanded.

"Because those woods are no place for a lady," he stated before turning to Link with his arms crossed. "I feel that you should leave her out here with me, where she will be safe."

Link was about retort, but Kagome beat him to it.

"Who are you to demand anything? Do you have a sword?"

"Well, no, but…"

"Do you have ANY weapons?"

"Well, I have my oil…"

"Do you even know how to fight?"

"…No?"

Kagome just glared while Link looked on is shock.

"So explain to me how I would be safer here with you should a monster attack and you can't even throw a punch!"

All Coron could do was stare at her in shock.

Believing she scared the oil seller enough, Link put his hand behind her back and directed her towards the gate. After unlocking the gate, the duo made their way into the cave.

Looking at her from the corner of his eye, Link would have to take a guess that she was still upset about the encounter earlier. Kagome raised an eyebrow at Link as she head him start to chuckle.

"And what is so funny?"

"Nothing, just thinking about how I never wish to get you mad."

She snorted. "That was me annoyed at the way he was looking at me. You would know if I was mad, trust me."

Link stopped dead in his tracks, just staring at her wide eyed as she moved past him. Noticing that he had stopped when the light began to dim, she turned to see what the matter was. She burst out laughing at the slightly scared look on his face. She walked back towards him and grabbed his hand, pulling him along. As they continued walking, Kagome glanced up at his face and frowned. She moved in front of him and stopped, making him stop as well. Taking his face in her hands, she brought his face closer, as if inspecting it. Needless to say, he was confused.

"What are you doing?"

She ignored him. "When was the last time you slept?"

He was silent as he thought about it.

"Besides that nap we took in Ordon Spring, I would have to say in the cell, why?"

"Because, before we go into that temple, you need to get some rest."

"I'll be fine, I can keep going."

"Please Link," she begged. "If you go into a battle unrested, you become sloppy and it makes it easier for the enemy to kill you. We don't know what is waiting for us in that temple and I refuse to let you fight when you're not in good health."

Not wanting to admit it, he was tired, but he couldn't stop, he had to save the children. But she did have a point, how can he save them if he's dead. With a sigh he relented.

"Alright, I'll get some sleep."

Kagome smiled at him.

"Since you know the area better than I do, is there a spot where we can stay for a bit?"

He thought about it for a while.

"Just before the entrance to the Forest Temple, there are several small clearings. At least one should be safe enough for us to rest in." Kagome nodded in agreement.

They soon made it out of the cave, only to find the land before them covered in a poisonous looking fog. They cautiously walked along the edge, trying to find a way through. Out of nowhere, a brown blur ran across Link, taking his lantern. The culprit turned out to be the monkey he had saved twice now. She was waving it around on a stick and beckoning them to follow her. Midna appeared before them in her ghostly form.

"Hey, what's this monkey's problem?" She turned to Link. "You idiot! While you were staring off into dreamland, your lantern got stolen!" She disappeared as quickly as came.

While Link was trying to think of a way to get the lantern back, Kagome noticed something about the monkey. Grabbing Links arm, she pointed at the monkey.

"Look at the fog around the monkey, when she swings the lantern, it disperses. She's trying to help us get through!"

Link looked, and sure enough, the monkey was clearing them a path. Grabbing Kagome by the hand, they ran to catch up with the monkey.

They made their way to the middle of area without incident, but that soon changed. Two bulblins came out of the fog and attacked. With such a little area to fight in, and having to worry about not hitting the two with him Link was unsure of how he was going to fight. He was forced to defend as one of the bulblins came at him. Not seeing where the other on went, he took a quick glance around from behind the safety of his shield. What he saw made him freeze in fear. The other one was going straight for the monkey and Kagome! Drawing his sword, he quickly made work of his opponent. He turned to help them, but paused as he saw Kagome fighting the bulblin bare handed, and was winning. He watched as she punched once with each fist, then spinning on one leg, she used the heel of her foot to know it down, stunned. Wasting no time, Link ran up and ran his blade through the creature, ending its life.

Seeing that the danger had passed, the little monkey led them safely to the other side of the clearing. Having helped them, she dropped the lantern on the ground before scurrying off. When Link went to pick it up, he noticed it was empty, and the sun was setting. Shrugging, he simply refilled the lantern with the oil he had bought. As soon as it was lit, he took Kagome's hand, leading her through the darkness of the cave before them. Eventually they made it through, and Link, after getting rid of the two monsters in their way, led Kagome to safe clearing so they could rest before entering the temple.

As soon as Kagome saw the clearing, her face broke out into a large smile. The ground was covered in soft looking grass to sit on and sticks littered the area so a fire could be built. But what really put the smile on her face, where the two water sources in the clearing. The steam coming from the pool of water was enough to tell her that a hot spring lay before her. The other was a stream of cool water and fish. Still smiling, she turned towards Link.

"This place is perfect! We just need to get a fire started and catch some fish for dinner." With that said, she went around collecting some rocks. Link was watching her as he got out the fishing pole Colin had made him.

"What are you going to do with those rocks?"

She looked up at him. "I'm going to use the flat jagged one to clear an area of grass and dig a small hole to light the fire in, and the other rocks are going to go around the outside of the hole to help keep the fire contained."

He seemed impressed with her answer and went to start fishing for dinner. After about ten minutes he heard her get up and move around. Turning to look at her, he saw her picking up sticks for the fire, while holding two off to the side. After placing some of the sticks in the little hole, she made a sort of triangle with the rest. After she finished, she turn towards him.

"Can you come light the fire please?"

Setting his fishing pole down he went over to her and used his lantern to start the fire. With a smile, he got back up and went back to his fishing pole while Kagome kept watch over the fire. After a good twenty minutes, Link walked back over with two fish. Kagome took them from him. As she turned around to begin cooking them, she stopped to turn back and eye Link.

"Why don't you go soak in the hot spring, it will be a while before the fish are ready to eat."

Link looked confused. "Why do I need to soak in the spring?"

"Because you have been moving almost nonstop since yesterday, your muscles are going to be real sore after you've rested. Soaking in the hot spring will help with the soreness."

With that, she turned on her heel to begin cooking dinner. She eventually heard the water splash, indicating that he had gotten in. They were silent for a few minutes before Link spoke.

"Kagome?"

"Yes?"

"What was that you did to that bulblin earlier?"

"What you saw me do was called martial arts. By learning different techniques and ways of moving my body, I turned myself into a weapon."

The fish were done a short time later, and soon after dinner they prepared themselves for sleep. Since it was a warm night, Kagome doused the fire after Link turned on his lantern. Settling down for bed, Link chose to lean against a tree. With one eye opened, he watched Kagome walk around making sure everything was done before they went to sleep. As she walked in front of Link, he reached out and pulled her to sit between his legs. He held her so that her back was against his chest. He was met with little resistance, and wondered why when he heard her yawn. He reached for his lantern and blew it out, leaving only the moon and stars over head to provide them with light as they succumbed to the world of dreams.


	6. The Forest Temple

AN: Hey everyone, here's a new update for you! So it looks like my updates will be sporadic. Not even I know when I'll update! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Disclaimer: Still own nothing!

 _Spirit_

* * *

With the morning sun casting its rays onto the forest, it seemed to shine more brightly onto the closed eyes of a golden haired swordsman. Link tiredly opened his eyes and lifted his head to look around. The first thing he noticed was that, at some time in the night, he had moved himself and Kagome from leaning against the tree, to lying on the ground. Her back was pressed against his chest, while one of his arms was draped across her waist (spooning). He began to hear something whimpering and looked around to see what was causing the sound. Seeing nothing, he sat himself up and looked down at the girl at his side. His eyes narrowed in worriment when he discovered that the whimpers were coming from her, and she had tears running down her face. He got to his knees and rolled her onto her back, gently shaking her shoulders, trying to wake her as she began thrashing about.

"Kagome, wake up," he pleaded. "It's just a nightmare, please wake up!"

~ Dream Sequence ~

The howling wind blew with such strength, that the strong, proud trees were bending to its will. "Inuyasha?"

A younger Kagome was calling out for her friend. At the half-demon's insistence, the group continued on their journey to search for the jewel, despite the dark clouds coming their way. Somehow, the group got separated, leaving the middle school time traveler alone in a forest during a storm. A sight soon greeted her. No, it wasn't her friends. It was a cave. She quickly ran into it, to hide herself from the wind and rain outside. Finding some dry sticks and broken branches, she lit a fire to warm her freezing body and clothes. She took off her shoes and soaked socks, setting them by the fire to dry easier. She did the same with the top of her school uniform, since she had a white tank top on underneath. For a while, she just sat and glared into the fire. 'When I see that dog, I'm going to sit him so hard; he won't be able to move a finger because of the pain.' It seems that Kagome was a little upset at the moment. Looking ahead, out of the cave, she saw that the storm had lessened to an easy rainfall. Because she was busy looking in front of her, she never noticed the red eyes narrowed behind her.

"Now that the stormed passed, it should be easy for Inuyasha to find me."

"But surely little priestess, you don't wish to leave so soon."

The voice that came behind her caused her eyes to widen in fear. She spun around, and was face to face with the one they hunted, Naraku. Somehow, Kagome could tell that this time, it was really him, not a puppet. She spun on her heel, her bare feet slapping against the wet grass of the forest as she ran in attempt to escape. Hearing his cold and mocking laughter was enough to make her legs pump faster than she had ever run in her life.

Suddenly, there was silence. Confused, Kagome slowed to a stop. Expanding her senses, she tried to find the one who was hunting her. She felt nothing, until two hands rested themselves on her shoulders and felt his hot breath as he spoke next to her ear.

"I caught you."

Then, all went dark.

~ End Dream Sequence ~

Link fell onto his back with a grunt as Kagome shot up, breathing heavily. She closed her eyes and took several deep breaths, trying to calm herself. Hearing movement from her right, she looked and saw Link propping himself up with one hand, while the other was rubbing the back of his head.

"Are you alright?"

Link stopped rubbing his head and looked at her in surprise. "I should be asking you that. It looked like you were having a pretty bad nightmare."

She gave him a sad smile and shook her head.

"I'm alright; it wasn't so much a nightmare as it was a bad memory."

"You want to talk about it?"

"Not right now. We need to get moving if we want to get that item from the temple."

Link groaned. "I guess you're right."

He stood up and dusted his clothes before offering her a hand up. After a quick breakfast that consisted of the leftover fish from last night's dinner, they made their way to the Forest Temple.

After a comfortable walk in silence, the temple could be seen at the end of a winding pathway. The temple seemed to be built within an extremely large tree trunk. Kagome giggled as they passed a little bird yelling at them to buy something. Her amusement was short lived as Link took hold of her arm, stopping their movement. Feeling his body tense, she looked up at his face. His eyes were narrowed, looking straight ahead. Following his gaze, she felt her own body tense. Just ahead of them was a golden colored wolf. It wasn't the presence of the wolf that had them on edge. No, it was the fact that the wolf appeared out of nowhere. As it got into a position to attack, Link put himself in front of Kagome, drawing his sword and shield. Before they even knew what happened, the wolf was leaping at them, covering them in a bright light.

They don't know how they got there, or how long they had been unconscious. When they woke, the world was covered in white. It was as if they were standing in a dream. A light fog covered the ground of the courtyard they now stood in. The two warily looked around, searching for the one who brought them there.

"Link, do you know where we are?"

"No…" he spun around quickly, once more putting himself in front of her. "But I have a feeling he does."

The 'he' that was mentioned was a large skeleton. In his life he must have been a soldier, if the decayed armor and helmet were any indication. His left arm protected by a round shield, and in his right he held a large sword. His stance was poised and ready to attack. Link moved to copy him, never breaking contact with the red eyes of his opponent.

"Kagome, I want you to get a safe distance behind me."

"But, I can..."

"You can't do much against a shield. Please, do as I ask."

Reluctantly, she moved. When she was far away enough, Link charged. With a warriors cry, he leapt at his enemy, his sword coming down to finish him.

Only to be thrown away like a toy by the soldier's shield.

Hearing an amused snort come from his left, he turned a glare on the female who just happened to be standing there trying to muffle her laughter. Their attention was drawn back on the large figure as he began to speak.

"A sword wields no strength unless the hand that holds it has courage. You may be destined to become the heroes of legend…but your current powers would disgrace the proud green of the hero's tunic you wear."

He ignored Kagome's shout of complaint.

"If you do find true courage, and you wish to save Hyrule from the horrors it now faces… Then you will be worthy to receive the secrets I hold!"

He instructs Link to get back into position. They begin to have a sparring session, a quick way to test each other, while Kagome sat and watched.

"Enemies that are filled with energy will quickly recover and attack again even when stunned by a powerful strike. The Ending Blow is a secret technique you can use on stunned enemies to end their breath before they spring back into action. When an enemy is lies collapsed on the ground, stunned, leap into the air and deliver a final strike. Now try it on me!"

Surprisingly, Link was able to get it in one try.

"Hmm. A pinpoint strike. Never overlook your opportunity to use it. The first hidden skill, the Ending Blow, has been passed on! It is my duty, by the word of the gods, that I instruct the hero to harness the hidden skills."

It was by this point that Kagome made her way back to Link's side.

"But what about me?"

The knight of old bowed his head at her.

"Your destined weapon is hidden deep within one of the temples. Those given the task to guard it were instructed to keep it safe until one of those chosen by the gods came to claim it. Your weapon shall be the compliment of the hero's. The heaven to his earth."

After telling them how to call upon him in the future, he bade them farewell and everything was, once again, covered in a blinding light.

As the light faded, they found themselves, once more, at the base of the temple path.

"Why is it always a bright flash of light?"

Link looked over his companion with a raised eyebrow.

"What do you mean?"

"When I was brought here from my world, big flash of light. When the spirit turned us human again, big flash of light. Just now, TWO flashes of light!"

"Where are you going with this?"

"Whenever something happens to us that involves the gods, they use a very bright flash of light. I'm sorry, but if they want us to save the world, they should either stop trying to blind us or stop sending a signal to our enemies telling them where we are."

"I doubt they are trying to do either."

She looked at him with narrow eyes.

"Then what are they doing? Use the light as some sort of signature?"

He seemed to think about that for a while.

"There is that, or it could be that the light works as a warning to those they wish us harm to stay away."

"…Lets just go to the temple."

Link chuckled and made a show of bowing.

"Ladies first."

His chivalry was rewarded with her heel stomping on his toes as she passed. The walk was made in silence as Kagome looked at the forest surrounding them in awe, Link walking right behind her with a slight limp. They stopped short of the entrance as the sounds of heavy footfalls met their ears. Looking around, they saw two purple creatures with white hair guarding the entrance.

"What are those?"

"Bokoblins, a little harder to kill that bulblins."

"Oh."

"Would it be too much to ask for you to leave them to me?"

Her glare answered that question.

Quickly, they moved to rid the guards of their post. Using his sword and shield, Link brought about his opponents end. He looked over to see how Kagome was fairing, and was once again struck with the way she fought her enemy using only her body.

After defeating their respective opponents, Link turned toward his companion.

"Do you know how to use any weapons?"

"I was trained in many, but I preferred using a bow."

She froze as she took notice of the door behind Link. Link's eyes narrowed in confusion as he saw her skin pale and body stiffen. Turning to look behind himself, he suddenly saw what scared her. The entrance to the temple was covered in one large spider's web. Using his lantern, Link quickly burned it to ashes. Walking back over to her, he took her small hand into his larger one, they then made their way into the temple.

"Big spider webs mean big spiders. I hate spiders. They all need to die horrible deaths."

Although he knew why she feared spiders, her constant mumbling greatly amused him. She was currently clinging to his left arm, while his right held the lantern.

"I believe that we should work on this fear of yours."

He looked down at her only to be met with a glare.

"I'm serious Kagome. I understand what caused you this fear in the first place, but you told me that he was dead. Do you wish to live in fear for the rest of your life?"

She focused her gaze ahead and leaned her head on his shoulder.

"I still have dreams about it. I know he's dead, but I can still remember everything about that day."

Link was silent as he contemplated her words.

The tunnel opened into a small chamber. Seeing a stump next to him, Link placed the lantern down and brought the quiet girl into his arms, resting his chin on the top of her head.

"I'm not going to pretend I know what is going on in your mind, and I'm not telling you how to feel. I am simply asking that you let me help you get over this."

She scoffed. "And how do you plan to do that?"

He was quiet as he gave it some thought.

"I have no doubt that this temple is crawling with creatures given orders to stop us at all costs. That would include walltulas and skulltulas."

He looked down as she moved her head to give him a look of confusion, which caused him to chuckle to himself.

"I'm sorry; I keep forgetting you're not from this world."

He moved back and moved his hands to be a foot apart.

"This is about the size of a walltula, like their name implies, they can be found on walls."

"You're kidding, right? They aren't really that big, are they?"

He smirked at her before continuing. "A skulltula, on the other hand, is bigger than me."

"Ok, why are they called skulltulas?"

"Because their backs look like giant skulls."

She stood there blinking at him. She nodded her and did an about face, walking back the way they came, waving at him over her shoulder.

"Ok, you have fun in here, I'll be waiting outside."

The attempted retreat was short lived as she soon found herself thrown over his shoulder.

"You're not getting away that easily."

"What are you going to do, carry me through the temple?"

"Of course not, how would I be able to fight if I did that?"

"Then how do you figure I won't run for it as soon as you put me down?"

"Because if you run, then I will just catch you."

"…You're not going to give this up are you?"

"Nope."

Kagome just sighed and hung her head in exasperation. "Alright, you can put me down. I won't try to leave again."

"No, I think I'll hold onto you for a little longer, just in case."

Kagome just glared at the back of his head as best as she could. "When this is all over and we save the world, I'm going to hurt you."

He laughed in response. "I'm sure you will."

His movements slowed to a stop as they made it to the center of the chamber.

"Link, why did you stop?"

He answered her by putting her back on her feet and pointing at the door atop the ledge in front of them.

"There is something in front of the door."

Midna chose that time to make her appearance.

"Hey! That's the monkey that stole your lantern! Doesn't it look like she's beckoning you? Aren't you the popular one?"

Then she disappears…again.

"She's right you know."

"About what?"

"That little monkey seems to have a crush on you."

A dry look was sent her way, causing her to giggle.

"Ha ha. I am so glad you're amused. Now if you're quite done, we have a temple to enter."

He grabbed her hand and led her to the ledge that held the door above.

"We'll have to climb up the vines if we want to reach the door. But, first things first."

Link reached into his pouch and brought out his slingshot.

"What are you going to do with that?"

"I'm not going to do anything with it, you are."

"What are you talking about?"

He handed her the slingshot and moved behind her. Placing his right hand on her shoulder, he used his left to point at a spot on the vines. He brought his head closer to hers, so as to make sure she was looking in the right place.

"You are going to use it to kill the two walltulas that are climbing along the vines."

She felt his breath run across her ear as he spoke to her. She barely heard him above the sound of her own heartbeat. Mind you, I said barely.

"You want me to WHAT?"

"I understand it's the same as using a bow. You just put a pellet or seed here, pull back the cord, aim, and release."

"Quit acting cute, you know what I mean!"

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Oh?"

"Just thinking about them terrifies me, and you want me took willingly look at one?"

"Why yes, if only for the simple fact that after a few seconds of looking at it, it would soon fall to the ground dead, it's dark little soul traveling towards the heavens to be judged by the gods for all of its crimes."

She simply stared at him for a few seconds.

"Has anyone mentioned that you can be quite the sarcastic little bastard?"

He shrugged with a grin. "It may have come up in a conversation or two."

"Uh-huh."

Armed with the knowledge that the evil little bug was going to die, she shot at it with the sling shot. True to his word, it fell to the ground, curled into itself, and died. The second one shortly followed.

"Now was that so bad?"

"It is in your best interest to get the smug little smile off your face, now."

The pair made their way to the vine covered wall.

"Why don't you go up first and I will be right behind you?"

"I don't think so, you'll try to run off again. We'll climb up at the same time."

Before long, they were atop the ledge and walking with the monkey past the now open door. The new chamber was much larger than the one they had just exited. Three doors lined the walls, each in one of the cardinal directions. The center of the room held an elevated platform that had four unlit torches. Once Midna had imparted her vague clue about the torches, the trio cautiously made their way up the stairs.

Because Link was leading, he didn't see the small amount of dirt fall behind him, but Kagome did. She stopped at where the dirt fell and slowly looked up, her body tensing at the site of a large spider falling rapidly down at her. She let out a startled scream as the force of the impact caused her to lose her balance and fall down the steps.

Link had also felt the slight tremor, but it was the short scream that caused him to look back. A skulltula had fallen from the ceiling of the chamber and caused Kagome to fall down the stairs and hit her head. Without thinking, Link pulled his sword from its sheath and ran at the giant spider that was advancing on the dazed girl. Using his own momentum, he slid down the stairs and underneath the spider, using his sword to cut thru the soft and unprotected belly of the beast.

As soon as he was from under the large spider, he ran over to Kagome and got into a defensive position, in case the skulltula lived thru the attack. He kept this position until the creature disappeared in a puff of smoke, before kneeling beside his companion.

"Are you alright?"

"I'm alive, if that's what you're asking."

He chuckled as he helped her stand.

"And what, exactly, do you find so amusing? You're not the one getting constantly hit on the head." She stumbled a bit as she tried to walk. "I have the feeling that I'm going to suffer serious head damage before this is all over."

"Well, we could just find you a nice helmet so you can have some protecti…OW! What did you hit me for?"

"Just light the damn torches."

Doing as the irritated female instructed, he moved his lantern over each torch. As soon as the last one was lit, steps rose from the ground in front of largest of the doors. They hurriedly followed the little monkey thru the door. Once on the other side, they found themselves outside once more. A long rope bridge spread across the wide gap between them, and the large door that led deeper into the temple. They watched as the monkey scrambled over the bridge. As she reached the halfway point, she stopped. On the other side of the bridge, a large white monkey stood. Staring at the little monkey, he drew a large white boomerang from behind his back. Upon seeing it, the smaller monkey quickly turned back and ran as fast as she could toward the two Hylians. She was almost back when the larger monkey let the boomerang fly, cutting the bridge in half. As the boomerang returned, the monkey hooted and hollered at them before turning his back to them and slapping his red cheeks before jumping away. They barely noticed the little monkey climbing back up onto the ledge as they just stood there staring at the spot where the white monkey just stood.

"What in the world was that?"

"I think he was looking at you when he did that."

"…You're kidding right?"

"If you can say the little monkey has a crush on me, then I can say that the big monkey wants to do something to you."

"That's not even funny."

"I thought it was."

"How about we just go back and find another way across."

"If you insist. Although…"

"Although what?"

"Well, I can't imagine why that monkey would want to take you anywhere."

"Excuse me?"

Link just smiled and waved at her over his shoulder as he walked back thru the door.

When they made it back to the center of the room, the monkey proceeded to lead them thru different chambers where they found more monkeys being held in cages. After rescuing all the monkeys in that part of the temple, they formed a type of swinging bridge in order to help the Hylians across. The room on the other side held the large white monkey with his boomerang. After a quick battle, they soon defeated him only to find out that a parasite had latched onto his back, controlling him. Once free, he climb thru a hole in the wall and disappeared, leaving the boomerang behind. As it turns out, a wind fairy placed its spirit within. With the help of the new weapon, they easily made their way through the rest of the temple and into the dungeon.

"Why is the water purple?"

"Poison."

Link looked back at Kagome.

"How do you know?"

"Look at how dead everything is. Besides, it's the same color as the miasma Naraku used to poison people."

"That would be a good indication."

They both looked around.

"So where is this item Midna was looking for, shouldn't it be here?"

At that moment two plants emerged from the water. They looked almost like the dekubabas they encountered throughout the temple, except bigger. Much bigger. The two plants began snapping their jaws at the two heroes.

"You just had to ask didn't you?"

"We can't just keep dodging, and they're moving too fast for my sword!"

Kagome gave a quick look around.

"Link, the bomblings! Use the boomerang and hit the babas with a bombling!"

Taking a look around, he noticed that she was right. Taking careful aim, he sent the boomerang towards the bombling and came back to him as one of the heads dived at him, getting right in the path of the bomb. With a loud shriek, it sunk into the water. Shortly followed by the second.

Kagome walked towards her companion.

"Is it dead?"

Her answer was the violent shaking of the ground. The force of the earthquake knocked them to the ground, and the boomerang flew from Link's hands. Movement from the water caught their attention. Their eyes widened as a Diababa rose from the water, with the two heads from before still attached.

Link barely rolled away as the two heads took turns striking at him. Kagome watched on as he evaded each strike. She snapped her head to the right as something white flashed out of the corner of her eye. It was the Gale Boomerang. Scrambling to her feet, she ran and grabbed it from the ground, intending to use it. But looking into the water, she saw no bomblings. Before she had a chance to begin panicking, a cry was heard from above. The large white monkey from earlier sat upon a ledge high above the water. When he saw he had her attention, he ducked onto hole behind him and came out with a bombling. Wasting no time, he grabbed hold of a vine and swung across the water, bomb still in hand. Watching him, Kagome understood what he wanted her to do. Like Link before, she took careful aim, waiting till the monkey was at just the right spot, before letting the boomerang fly. A large explosion and the sinking of one of the heads told her that it was a direct hit. Link took the brief time the monster shrieked in pain to cast a glance at Kagome.

"Keep your sword ready, I'll weaken it enough for you to strike."

She received a nod in response.

The pattern continued until the largest head fell onto the bank in front of Link, stunned. Not wasting time, he rapidly struck the eye of the monster. On the final strike, the Diababa began thrashing in pain. Without having time to move, Link was hit by the giant plant and flung several yards away. Kagome ran to him and helped him sit up. They both watched as the creature continued to flail about, before it began drying out in much the same way as a dead plant. There was a pause before the plant exploded, causing a shockwave to ripple thru the area. Without thinking, Link turned and covered Kagome's body with his own, the shield on his back protecting them both from flying debris.

Once the shockwave was over, they turned and saw Midna holding an item that looked just like the broken helmet that sat upon her head. The two Hylians rose to their feet and made their way to the small shadow imp.

"That's…what I was looking for. That's a Fused Shadow. It's what the light spirit called dark power… Do you remember what the spirit said? About how you had to match the power of the king of shadows? Could it really be this easy? Is this all there is to it. Eee hee hee! There's a total of three Fused Shadows. I think the other light spirits have the rest… If you want to know exactly what Fused Shadows are…well, maybe I'll tell you if you find the other two. I guess you'd better do your best to find them, huh? I'll get you out of here…"

True to her word, the three of them vanished from the temple and found themselves back at the spring of Faron.

 _Young heroes…_

 _Do not think that Hyrule is now saved from the spread of twilight…_

 _Leave these woods and go west, where you will find the land protected by the spirit Eldin. There you will find those you seek…_

 _But know that these lands lie in twilight…They are now a dark realm covered by the clouds of dusk._

 _If you set foot beyond the curtains of twilight, you will revert to your beast forms, so be prepared._

 _Heroes chosen by the gods, leave these woods and go west, to the land of the spirit Eldin."_

 _The light of the spirit slowly dimmed until it disappeared._


	7. A Well Deserved Rest

AN: Good day everyone! I should probably explain something. Not every chapter was changed and, if it was, it might not be a very big change. The more obvious changes will be happening starting with this chapter. Hope you guys enjoy!

Disclaimer: Still own nothing!

* * *

"Isn't that great Link? Your friends are just west of…Link?"

Kagome became worried as she saw the pained expression on his face.

"Link, what's wrong?"

He brought his hand to his left side. As he took it away, they could both see the blood upon his hand. Moving to his other side, Kagome gasped as she saw the wound. At some point during the fight, some of the poisoned water had eaten through his tunic and chain mail, exposing his skin. It looked like it was a sword that caused the blood to flow from his body.

"We need to get you medical attention, fast."

"Go back to my village; I have medicinal supplies in my home."

"Can you walk that far?"

"Do we have much of a choice?"

The duo slowly made their way thru the forest until they came upon Link's house. They made it back just as the sun was setting.

After they made it inside, Kagome had Link sit in the middle of the floor and remove his shirt. She cringed when she saw how bad the wound was.

"That bad, huh?"

"It looks like I'll have to stitch it up." She stood up and looked around. "I'm going to need a bowl, rags, a needle and thread."

Link told her where to find each of the items. As it turned out, he had a water pump inside of his house, so she didn't have to go into the village and get water from the stream. Putting a small pot of water over the fire, she waited until it began heating before ladling some into the wooden bowl she found, leaving the rest to boil.

She kneeled beside Link and set the bowl down and submerged one of the rags into the water.

"I'm going to start cleaning the wound, this might hurt a bit."

"Go ahead."

As soon as the wound was clean, it did not look as bad as before. She reported this to her patient.

"So does that mean no stitches?"

She snorted. "It means not as many as I thought."

"Damn," he grimaced. "This is going to hurt."

"Yes it is."

She carefully threaded the needle.

"I'm going to need you to be completely still."

"Alright, ready."

It took ten stitches to completely close the wound. Using clean water, she cleansed the area of any blood.

"Where do you keep your clothes?"

"Over there, why?"

"Because you have blood all over yours and so do mine, so we are going to have to change so I can wash them."

"Oh."

She rummaged through his clothes till she found a pair of pants and a shirt. She walked back over and handed him the pants.

"What about my shirt?"

"The shirt's for me. A shirt may aggravate the wound while you sleep. Your sheets are fine since those are less constrictive." She poured some of the water she had left into a clean bowl. Picking up a rag, she walked back over to him and set it down.

"I'm going to catch something for dinner; I want you to bathe yourself as best as you can."

"I have a storage area in the basement with some fruits and vegetables; there may be some cheese down there."

"Ok. Then I just need to get some meat."

As soon as she closed the door, Link began to clean himself off.

After about ten minutes, Kagome saw a decent size pig in the woods just behind Link's house. Had she not seen the pulley on the side of the house, she would have just settled on a couple of rabbits. But with a pig, they could dry the rest of the meat and carry it with them. Waiting until she was sure it wasn't going to move anytime soon, she slowly unsheathed her dagger. Taking aim, she watched as it embedded itself in the pigs head, killing it instantly. Dragging it to a stream that was nearby, she proceeded to skin and gut it. When she was satisfied with her work, she picked it up and carried it back the house. Night had just settled in by the time she finally got her kill up to the front door. She opened the door to see Link cleaning up the bloody mess they had made. He stopped as soon as he heard the door open and turned to see Kagome standing there holding a good sized pig. Placing the rags in a pile, he moved to take the pig away from the small female.

"I can put the pig over the fire if you want to clean yourself off."

She gave him a small smile in thanks.

"I'll go down to the basement. I can look for something to cook along with the pig while I'm down there."

"If you want to change up here, I won't stop you."

She had been on her way down as he said that. "Not a chance you pervert."

He just shrugged as she climbed down the latter and out of site.

He had just finished putting the pig on the spit when a green ball flew from the basement and onto the floor. He turned his attention back to cooking meat, making sure it rotated properly.

Kagome was very happy with the stuff she found in the basement. She brought up some potatoes, carrots, onions, bread and butter. She had just finished climbing the ladder when she turned to see how Link was doing cooking the meat.

Because she was worried more about his wound than anything else, she didn't really pay much attention on how he looked without a shirt. Now she can. Needless to say, the man was built. He wasn't bulky, and he wasn't wiry. The muscles on his arms and chest showed that he had no problem working hard. The bandage across his waist was snug enough for her to tell that a six pack was hidden underneath. She shook herself out of her daze before he caught her staring.

Link looked up as he felt a hand on his shoulder.

"Why don't you go and rest somewhere other than here. I need this space to cook and start on the clothes."

Link raised an eyebrow at this. "What are you, my wife?"

"You wish I was. I just happen to enjoy taking care of people. Now move."

"Alright, alright, just put down the spoon."

He moved over to the wall and sat against it. Seeing as she was focused on her work, he took this time to study her. He first noticed the shirt she had on. Because it was made to fit his large frame, it was loose on her. The collar was so wide that one of the sleeves fell down and fell over her arm, exposing one of her shoulders. Her hair had been put up into a messy bun on the top of her head to help keep it out of her way as she set about cutting the vegetables and putting them in the cooking pot with the water. If he had to guess, she was probably making a stew. When she seemed satisfied with how the meal was cooking, she stood to collect their ripped and torn garments so she could mend them. It would seem that his shirt was not much longer than her own, not that he was complaining mind you. He raised an eyebrow when he saw her turn over his tunic with a confused expression.

"What's wrong?"

"All of the tears in the fabric."

"What about them?"

"They're gone!"

With his own confused expression, he stood and made his way over to her. Taking the tunic in his own hands, he inspected it while she looked at her own clothes. Sure enough, the cloth had mended itself.

"I guess the gods placed some magic in the fabric to mend itself."

"Nice foresight on their part. Ok, give it back; these things still need to be washed."

For some reason, Link suddenly felt very playful.

"If you can take it from me, you can have it."

She crossed her arms and raised an eyebrow at the male in front of her.

"Excuse me?"

Because Link was such a gentleman, he wasn't going to tell Kagome that when she crossed her arms, it pushed some of her bust from the low collar giving Link more of her breasts to look at. No, he was too much of a gentleman for that.

"You heard me, if you want it, take it."

She walked up to him and made a grab for the tunic in his hand. In retaliation, he lifted higher.

"Oh, come on!"

"You almost had it."

Giving him a playful glare, she bent her knees before jumping at the item in his hand. He just lifted it higher as she jumped. This went on for a few minutes before Kagome got an idea. She just had to make sure it wouldn't hurt him.

"How is that cut on your side?

Link paused for a second as he eyed her.

"It's fine, feels like I never got injured."

He saw her eyebrows furrow.

"What?"

"I want to take a look at it, it should be slightly sore."

Giving her an untrusting gaze, he placed the tunic on a high shelf so she could remove the bandage. While she poked and prodded at the wound, he tried not to think of how soft her fingers felt against his skin.

"This should not be possible."

He looked down at her in worry. "What? What's wrong?"

"It's completely healed!"

"What?!"

"It's healed, the stitches are gone. You don't even have scar!"

He backed away from her and turned his torso so he could see it for himself. Sure enough, there was no evidence of the wound that had marred his skin.

"What do you know, it's gone."

He blinked at the glare she gave him.

"You could a bit more grateful, you know. The gods could have just let you heal like normal person instead of speeding up the process!"

"I just figured that you were excited enough for the both of us."

With a huff she walked over to where the food was cooking, not before giving him a good smack on the head.

Link watched as she stirred the pot a few times and checked the meat.

"The food's ready. Take as much meat as you want, I'll dry what's left so we have something to eat on the road."

Dinner was a relatively quiet affair. Soon they were finished and the leftover meat was being smoked for jerky.

Link was sitting on his bed reading a book as Kagome got to work on washing their clothes and setting them in front of the fire to dry. When was just about done, she realized Link still hadn't given her his tunic. Not wanting to bother him, she looked around for it before spotting it up on a high shelf. Giving him an unseen glare, she got up and made her way over to retrieve the article of clothing. She had climbed up and just about had it when she saw a larger hand reach over her head and take it from the shelf. Turning to look behind her, she saw Link backing up with the tunic and a wolfish smile on his face.

"I told you before, if you want it, you have to take it."

Kagome looked at the distance between them before coming up with a plan of attack. Without any warning, she leaped off the shelf and flew towards Link, who could only stare with wide eyes. The force of the collision sent the two onto the floor where they playfully wrestled each other for the piece of clothing, laughing the whole time. The little fight ended as Link was pinned to the floor by Kagome. He had gotten the wind knocked out of him when she jumped on his stomach. So now he was lying on the floor trying to catch his breath, with Kagome still on top of him.

"Well, that was fun." She laughed as the blonde male lifted his head to glare at her.

It was then that he took notice of their position. He was lying on the floor, and Kagome was straddling his waist with a flushed face and trying to catch her own breath. Propping himself up on his elbows, he began to see her in a different way.

Kagome's laughter died down when she saw the look on Link's face. His eyes were glowing, and the shadows caused by the firelight gave him a sort of dark, predatory, look. She barely took notice as he pushed himself up into a sitting position, placing one hand on the small of her back, while the other rested at the base of her skull. She came out of her daze as she felt him pull her head down to his before placing his mouth over hers.

Link watched as her eyes widened in surprise before slowly closing, his own closing shortly after. Removing his hands from their previous positions, and came to rest on her hips, drawing her closer to his body. Her own hands came to rest on his biceps, lightly squeezing the muscles found there.

The little kiss soon turned more passionate when Link caused Kagome to gasp when she felt one of his hands stroke her thigh. Taking advantage of the situation, Link swept his tongue in her mouth, which began a battle of dominance that he had no problem winning.

It was only the need for air that caused them to part. Placing another kiss on her lips, Link slowly made his way down her jaw line and to her neck, gently sucking on the pulsing vein he found. He felt her move one of her hands and place it on the back of his head. He became a bit more daring as he heard her moan of pleasure and felt her hand form a fist in his hair, holding him in his current position. Lifting the hand that had been resting on her thigh, he brought it up to cup one of her cloth covered breasts and give it a gentle squeeze. This caused her to throw her head back with a throaty moan, which was making "little Link" wake up.

Feeling the slight bulge begin to grow, Kagome came to her senses. Placing her hands on his shoulders, she gently pushed Link back so he once more lying down.

"Slow down there, buddy," she admonished playfully. "I'm not that type of girl."

Letting out a laugh, Link sat back up as she got off of him. "You can't blame a guy for trying when a pretty girl is just sitting there in nothing but his shirt."

Grabbing his shirt, she twists is together before whipping it at his backside as he walked past.

"Hey!"

"You can't blame a girl when dealing with a pervert," she winked playfully at him.

Link chuckled as he shook his head while he tended to the leftover meal. As he was finishing putting things away, he heard a faint yawn. Looking over, he saw Kagome fighting sleep as she finished tying the knot of the thread she used to mend his tunic. Getting up from the fire, he approached the tired woman and took the shirt and sewing kit from her and helped her to stand.

"I think it's time for you to go to bed," he said quietly as he steered her toward the bed.

"But what about," a yawn interrupted her. "The food?"

"I already took care of it," he said. "I'm just going to put out the fire and then I'll be right up, okay."

"Okay," came the tired reply as Kagome burrowed under the covers.

Doing as he said, Link put out the fire and used the light of the moon to navigate his way to the ladder that led up to his bed. Crawling under the covers, he made himself comfortable as he lay down to sleep. As the realm of sleep took hold of him, he felt a soft body draw closer to his own as a small arm laid itself over his torso. Drawing the small form close, Link allowed sleep to finally take him.


	8. Kakariko Village

AN: Le gasp! It's another chapter! In case you missed it, I also posted chapter 7. So go back if you missed it

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

" _Spirit People"_

 _Light Spirit_

* * *

As the sun slowly rose to the sky, the inhabitants of the forest came alive, both beast and man. In a house built within a tree, two figures lay upon a bed, the light haired males' large frame dwarfing the figure of the smaller dark haired female. The rays of the morning light fell through the open window and onto the male's face. The light caused his eyelids to squint, before opening to reveal a twin set of blue that rivaled the mid-day sky. Blinking a few times to clear the remaining fog of sleep, he made an attempt to get up but was thwarted by a slight weight on his arm. Looking down, he saw a thick mass of dark hair resting on his outstretched arm. Sitting up as far as he could, he stared down at her still sleeping form. After studying her for a few moments, the youth lay back to stare at the ceiling, contemplating on what he should do for the day.

'I should probably head into the village, just to let them know I'm alive,' he thought. 'Best not to let them know about my being a wolf. Probably shouldn't mention Kagome either, they'll ask questions and want to meet her. Might as well grab some supplies while I'm there.'

Intending to follow through with his set plans for the day, Link eased his arm out from under the sleeping girl's head, allowing her to rest on his pillow. After slowly making his way out of bed, he proceeded to dress himself in his usual. As he was fastening the green leather sleeve, a voice behind him made him pause.

"Link?"

He turned to see Kagome sitting up and rubbing her eyes. Her hair was still mussed from sleep and as she sat up in bed.

"Where, (yawn), are you going?"

Picking up his sandals, he made his way back the bed and sat on the edge in front of her, proceeding to put on his footwear.

"I'm going into the village to let them know I'm alive and to pick up some supplies before we leave tomorrow morning."

"We're leaving tomorrow?"

He turned to look at her, having finished with his sandals.

"We don't know what is waiting for us outside of the forest, its best if we are as rested as possible."

He saw her nod in agreement.

"Why don't you get some more sleep, you look tired. When I get back from the village, we can make plans and then we can just relax and enjoy a lazy summer day."

Seeing her nod sleepily, he gave her a kiss on the forehead, and made his way out the door.

It was after mid-day when Link made it back to his house. His trip to the village was as he predicted. Everyone was happy he was alive; sad when they told him of the children, and happy once more when he volunteered to find them. He visited Rusl, whom was laid up in bed because of his injuries. On his way back to his house he stopped by the general store and picked up a few supplies he thought they would need on the road. All in all, he was tired and very happy to step into his house and see his travel partner cooking dinner. After setting his goods on the floor, he flopped on the bed. Hearing the sound of her giggling, he turned his face towards her and gave her a half-hearted glare.

"Aww, is the poor little warrior tired?"

The glare turned a little less half-hearted. Deciding her not so important right now, he re-buried his face into the bedding. Kagome just continued to giggle. He looked so funny lying face down on his bed like that. Seeing him like that gave Kagome an idea. Giving the pot one final stir, she covered it and made her way over to the bed.

Link looked up when he felt a hand on his back.

"Yes?"

"Take your shirt off and move to the middle of the bed."

Link just blinked at her in surprise. 'Did she just…?'

Kagome rolled her eyes at him.

"I said your shirt, not your clothes, pervert."

"First tell me why."

"I am going to do something, not perverted, that will help you relax."

Narrowing his eyes at her, he did as she said. He looked over his shoulder when he felt her sit on his lower back.

"Turn around."

Again, did as he was told.

"Tell me why I am letting you do this?"

"Because you'll enjoy it."

He felt her hands on his back, rubbing and applying pressure in certain spots.

As Kagome massaged his back, she felt him begin to go limp.

"So how do you feel?"

He gave her a moan in response. Didn't even care when she laughed at him. He did care when he felt her stop and get off of him. He lifted his head to see her walking back over to the fire.

"Where are you going?"

Ignoring him, she kneeled beside the fire and uncovered the cooking pot. Giving it a few stirs, she got two bowls and put some of the stew in each, and placing them on the table and sitting down.

"Aren't you going to eat?"

Link groaned and lifted himself off the bed and put his shirt back on as he made his way to the dinner table. After a comfortably silent dinner, they began to make sure everything was ready so they could leave at dawn.

As planned, they were able to wake and be on their way as the sun began its daily trek across the sky. The trip was spent teaching Kagome about Hyrule. The current lesson was currency.

"In my world, we used gold to determine the value of money. Depending on how much gold the country had, determined how much was in circulation."

"Now see, it's simpler here. We use gems called rupees. The color of the rupee, determines the value."

Reaching into his pouch, he pulled out four different colored gems. He held each one up as he described them.

"A green rupee is worth 1. A blue one is worth five, yellow is 10, and red is 20."

Kagome turned them over in her hands.

"Are there any others, or are these four all there is?"

"Those are what I have on me; there are three more, but harder to come by. Purple ones are worth 50, orange is worth 100, and the rarest is a silver rupee, which is worth 200."

"Wow, that's a lot."

"You can usually find the green and blue ones hidden in patches of grass or in shrubs."

She gave him a skeptical look. "You're kidding."

"Nope. The others can sometimes be hidden like that, but more often than not they are…"

"HEEEEEEY!"

The two travelers stopped in their tracks and just stared at the man approaching them, not quite sure what to think of him.

"Go no further! There is a black wall ahead that blocks the way! I thought I would deliver a few letters, but it seems impossible… I am an honorable and dependable letter carrier, known to some as…the postman. Now that I have introduced myself, please! Take this letter and read it at your leisure! Well, my business is concluded! Onward to mail!"

They continued to stare as he saluted and raced off in a different direction. It was Kagome who broke the silence.

"That man is either very loyal to his profession or…"

"Completely insane."

"I guess we can say both."

They continued their trek until they once again came to the door leading into the Twilight.

This cued everyone's favorite imp.

"Hey, it was much closer than I thought… You remember, right? You know what this is? If you set foot in there, you might be a wolf again for quite some time… For at least as long as it takes you to save the light of Eldin from the twilight, anyway… So, shall we try to go see the light spirit Eldin? Eee hee!"

"We wouldn't have come here if we weren't prepared to go in Midna."

"Alright then!"

Midna soon disappears within the wall; soon the large orange hand comes and draws the two Hylians within.

Upon land on the other side, they feel themselves transform into their bestial forms. And Link, once more, found himself as Midna's transportation.

"Ahh, look! How lovely! The black clouds of twilight are so fetching today… I feel so much more at ease here… And you both look so much better like this than in those dusty old clothes, anyway. Eee hee! So, let's get going!"

 **I'm going to get going on something alright!**

 _ **Try not to let her bother you, it only makes her happy.**_

 **But she's picking on me!**

 _ **If you're a good boy and don't complain too much until we turn human, I'll rub your back again.**_

Link stopped and turned to look at her with his ears perked.

 **Really?**

 _ **I promise.**_

 _ **Well then, let's go! The sooner we get to Kakariko the sooner we can find the kids and save the light spirit!**_

He moved forward with his head up, like a proud beast. Paying no attention to the she-wolf laughing beside him. They continued moving for a few minutes when something caught Kagome's eye.

 _ **What's that?**_

 **What's what?**

 _ **There's something in the ground over there.**_

Curiosities piqued, they both moved forward towards the object.

 _ **It's a wooden sword, what's it doing all the way out here?**_

Link was silent; the wooden sword looked very familiar, almost like... Honing his senses, he discovered three scents attached to it. The most predominant was the scent of the Ordon woods. This was the sword he let Taro use the day of the attack!

 **It's the children!**

 _ **What? Where?!**_

 **This is the wooden sword I let Taro use the day those things attacked! It still has their scents! It's going this way!**

Without a warning, he shot off, following the trail, Kagome following close behind. They followed the trail, ignoring everything in their path.

 _ **Link, I really think you should slow down a bit!**_

 **Why?**

 _ **Because we're coming up on a gorge and those things might be waiting to ambush us!**_

 **If they were there I would be able to smell them, you would also.**

 _ **We are only able to smell them AFTER they trap us in a barrier and they fall from the sky, so will you please slow down?**_

 **Will you stop worrying? We are not going to…**

Crash!

 _ **Oh look, you just ran into one of their barriers.**_

She was currently looking down at the larger wolf that had his paws sitting on the top of his head.

 **Really? My head hurts enough; I could do without the sarcasm.**

 _ **That wasn't sarcasm,**_ she said pointedly. _**That was me pointing out a fact.**_

A low growl was his response.

Looking up, Kagome saw the strange portal appear, announcing the arrival of the monsters.

 _ **You think you can stand; those things will be dropping down soon.**_

 **Yeah, just let me get my bearings.**

He managed to clear his head just as the Messengers began their descent. The fight was not as long as before. Wanting to do her part, Kagome latched onto the one furthest from Link and brought it down. Link and Midna made quick work of the other two with the energy attack. As soon as the barrier disappeared, they started to the bridge that would take them over the gorge. At least, they would have. A flash of dark lightning hit the bridge and caused it to break from the gorge and lift up into the air before disintegrating into twilight particles and disappearing into the strange portal.

*crickets chirp*

 _ **What in the seven hells was that?!**_

 **I don't know, but whoever is doing this to us is grating on my last nerve.**

"I wonder if this is the work of those shadow creatures…Ugh…What a pain! Ah well, let's look for it…"

Midna calls the map to her and places it on the ground so they could all see it.

"The yellow arrow marks where we are. You did know that right? Whenever you destroy those creatures from darkness, a portal opens that looks like this on the map. You hear me? It's called a portal. You'd better remember that! And…in those woods we came through… Yes! It's got to be around there… I'll use my power to take you to the location of the open portal… Pick where you want to go."

Link turns his attention to the female at his side.

 **What do you think?**

 _ **Well…that first portal was at the spring near your house, not much space for a bridge, even if they were trying to hide it.**_

 **So the second portal then?**

 _ **That would have to be my guess.**_

 **The question now would have to be, do we both need to go?**

Kagome thought of this for a bit.

 _ **One of us should stay. We don't know how much power it takes for her to transport us, and add to the fact that that bridge isn't small. Taking both of us when there is no need would just be an unneeded waste of power.**_

 **So which of us should go?**

 _ **I should, you need to rest at some point. And I am willing to bet you're tired of hauling her around all the time.**_

 **Well, a break from her would be nice.**

A feminine chuckle echoed through his mind.

"What are you doing? Pick which one you want!"

Link laid down where he had stood while Kagome walked over to the map and pointed to the portal in the northern part of Faron Woods.

"So I'm taking you, and leaving him?"

A nod was her response.

"Okay, let's go!"

Link watched as they disappeared from sight.

Link was enjoying his time alone. Although he was still trapped in the twilight, it was quiet. Or, it was. A sudden crash startled him enough to make him jump a foot in the air.

 **What was that?!**

His question was answered when twilight particles fell from the portal above and reassembled into the forms of the two females he traveled with. Who weren't even aware of him apparently.

"See! Just as I thought…Eee hee!"

Their heads turned as Link came to stand by Kagome.

"So, isn't the power of twilight amazing? Call me if you need the power of twilight. It should help you find what we're looking for, don't you think? All right! Let's keep going!"

After taking her rightful place on Link's back, they made their way over the bridge and towards the gate leading into a canyon.

 _ **That…is a creepy looking gate.**_

 **And foreboding, can't forget foreboding.**

 _ **No… no, let's not forget foreboding.**_

Still unable to understand her companions, Midna voiced their thoughts aloud.

"What are they doing there? This is a pretty elaborate gate…What are they trying to keep in?… Or out? I bet it'll be worth our while to dig in…"

Looking around the gate, they find a soft patch of dirt, similar to the one they used to escape from the dungeon. After digging through, they made their way into the canyon. It was a peaceful, albeit creepy, walk, until they were surrounded by a barrier…again.

 _ **These creeps are getting very annoying, VERY fast!**_

All Link could do was stare in slight shock, not to be confused with fear, as Kagome viciously tore into one of the monsters.

 **I hope this is her mad, it could not possibly any worse than this,** he thinks.

 _ **Are you going to take care of the other two or am I going to have to do it?!**_

Not wasting any time, Link and Midna used the energy field to dispose of the final two. A loud, but silent, voice echoed through their heads as the barrier was lifted. It was the spirit Eldin, asking them to retrieve his Tears of Light. It was after the spirit had marked their map that he gave a word of warning.

… _Be careful…the darkness…now hunts you…_

The two wolves just stared back at the spring.

 **That was kind of creepy.**

 _ **And foreboding, can't forget foreboding.**_

"Well, since that spirit was kind enough to tell us we have the attention of those monsters, perhaps we should speed up our search, eh," she brought out her map. "The bugs seem to be more spread out than before, so we'll collect the ones in this area first, then move onto the next."

Look at the map and their surroundings, they were soon able to determine the general area of each bugs hiding place.

"Now that we have that figured out, where should we start?"

 **I guess we could start from here and work our way out.**

 _ **Well, do you want to search for the bugs first, or find the kids?**_

Link was silent for a moment before wordlessly honing his senses.

 **Their scent leads into that house.**

Kagome looked up to see a dome shaped house with a bell above. Without informing Midna, the two beasts walked around the perimeter of the house, trying to find a way in. Seeing what they were doing, Midna decided to be nice and offer her assistance. Flying to the top of the house, she saw a weak spot in the ceiling. If hit with enough force, it should make a big enough hole for them to fall through.

"Hey, you can climb up here!"

Together, the two wolves made their way onto the top of the house. Due to the patch of straw that was used to cover a hole, it didn't take long for them to get in. Compared to all the other landings they made, this was by far the easiest. No one landed on another, and the wolves landed on their feet. Due to the fact that they were covered in twilight, the room seemed empty and cold. Except for the seven balls of light hovering in the air. Honing their senses, they found, what looked to be, the towns inhabitants.

 _"Cripes!"_

The trio turned toward the widow and saw portly man looking out.

 _"I don't see those black brutes anywhere….They've gotta be hidin' somewhere, waitin' for their helpless little prey to come out! Then they'll FEAST!"_

A small whimper brought their attention to the middle of the room. Sitting on a bench was a man in long white robes, which seemed to represent a type of status. His arm was around a girl who looked similar to him. They were not the only ones there though.

 **That's them!**

Kagome looked at Link and saw his ears perked.

 _ **Them?**_

 **The children from my village!**

It was a girl who let out the whimper. The man placed a hand on her shoulder, drawing her attention to him.

 _"We are safe as long as we remain in here, child. Be at ease."_

The man beside the window drew the attention back at himself.

 _"Oh yeah? I wonder if the monsters out there agree with you… They sure didn't seem impressed by my bombs! How long do you think we can hold this sanctuary against beasts that strong, huh? Once they attack, it's OVER! Remember that lady from the general store? Just one of those things attacked her, and a whole gang from town went to save her! And what happened? She was already gone, and there were TWO monsters waitin'! …You connectin' the dots? That means that if we get attacked by them, then we'll be…"_

 _ **How dare he say these things in front of those kids? I should bite him for…**_

 _"BARNES!"_ The man with the children glared at the other. The man, now identified as Barnes, sighed heavily as he saw the frightened gazes of the children.

 _"Look, Renado…All I mean to say is that it's risky here, too! Ain't you got some place we can hide?"_

Renado answered hesitantly.

 _"There is…a cellar."_

This caused the portly man to perk up before frantically crawling around the floor, looking for the entrance. His searched was paused when Renado spoke again.

 _"The entrance to the cellar is designed to open when all of the candles have been lit…"_

Kagome snorted as she watched the portly man pick up a stick and walk towards the unlit candles.

 _ **How is he going to light those candles with an unlit stick, beat them?**_

She heard Link's amused chuckle as he bumped the side of her head in a joking reprimand.

 **Be nice.**

 _ **Why, it's not like he can hear me. Besides, there has to be a reason why they weren't taken down there when they entered the house!**_

 **Maybe it's a last resort.**

They turned their attention back to the group as a timid voice spoke out.

 _"I…would not do that,"_ it was the girl dressed the same as the man. _"When father instructed me to secure the cellar, I saw insects like the beasts outside…"_

This caused Barnes to drop the stick and scramble back as if burned.

 _ **You were saying?**_

 **It was possible.**

Before Kagome could give a retort, their attention was once again drawn to the group. This time the cause was a loud sob coming from the other girl. They watched as a blonde boy patted her on the back.

 _"Don't cry Beth! It'll be ok! Link is coming to save us all!…I can feel it!"_

Link watched this all with a heavy heart. The mood around the house was a somber one, so of course Midna had to remind them she was there.

"These kids knew you'd come to save them! What a hero! How sad, to be right in front of someone and not be noticed at all…eee hee hee! You are chosen by the gods, and only that keeps you from turning into a spirit, or worse, into a dark monster, when you enter twilight. And no one knows what you have done…you may be doomed to toil in obscurity forever… You're the type to worry about everything, I can tell…but don't fret over Princess Zelda! She chose this state of affairs, after all… Anyway, what's with having to light candles to get to the basement? Not very subtle, is it… So, what are you going to do now? My lonely little hero…eee hee!"

And just like every time before, she disappeared before their eyes.

 _ **I hate it when she does that.**_

Link looked down at the small female at his side.

 **What do you mean?**

 _ **She just shows up, makes some sarcastic little comment, then leaves. It's getting really annoying!**_

Any reply he had was interrupted, once again, by Barnes.

 _"Cripes! Seems like everyone's tryin' to pull a fast one these days. Boy, I don't have a clue who this Link fella is…but I've gotta say, I ain't overly confidant he's gonna come save this village!"_

Barnes was lucky he was unable to hear the two growls within the room.

 _ **How dare he try to crush their hopes like that!**_

The large male said nothing, just continued to glare at the blunt fool. They vaguely heard Renado mention that the room was safest place they could be, for the moment.

After a brief interlude of silence, Link made his way over to the discarded stick from earlier. After picking it up, he placed one end into the fire and waited for it to light.

 _ **What are you doing?**_

He turned to see her head cocked in a confused manner.

 **The girl said that there were bugs in the cellar, so I'm opening it up.**

… _ **oh.**_

As soon as the stick was lit, Link swiftly ran along the wall, lighting all the torches. As soon as the last one was lit, the ground began to shake as the statue in the center of the room began to move aside, revealing the entrance to the cellar. Needless to say, because the room's occupants were unable to see them, they became a bit frightened when the statue moved on its own.

Jumping down into the dark hole, they began their search for the bugs.

It was a grueling two hours later that they finished off the last insect. Granted, there may have been one or two…difficulties ( **How was I supposed to know that the damn thing would fly out like that and set the house on fire?!** )…but their efforts were rewarded as the light was restored to the province, and their bodies returned to their original state.

Just like before, the way was pointed to them by the spirit. Their new destination was the home of the mountain dwellers, the Gorons.

As the light of the spirit died, they heard a startled gasp from behind them. Turning around, they say the blonde boy sticking his head out of the door.

"Link?"

He was pushed to the ground as the other children heard him and ran outside to see their hero. The boy was too happy to care about his rough treatment and quickly got to his feet and made his way over to his friends.

As the children raced towards Link, Kagome stepped out of the way so as not to disturbed them. Their attention was drawn to the three figures walking towards them. The man robed in white was the first to speak.

"…You are the one from Ordon whom these children spoke of? We are well met. I am Renado, shaman of this town. And this…" The portly man from earlier puffs out his chest, but is quickly deflated as Renado skips past him and motions to the girl beside him. "Is my daughter, Luda."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, sir," the blonde warrior gave a slight bow of respect to the holy man. "Can I ask how the children came to be in your care?"

The children's faces turned somber, it was the small blonde boy who spoke.

"The beasts took us and left us to die…" he didn't see the two pairs of eyes narrow at this declaration. "But Mr. Renado found us."

"At first, I couldn't believe they had come from so distant a place as the Ordon Province…"

The group continued to explain that, since their capture, it has been like a nightmare they couldn't escape. Renado further explained about the strange behavior of the Goron tribe.

The young girl with a doll seemed to be the first to notice an extra person in the group.

"Hey, who's she?"

The group looked to see her pointing at a raven haired woman standing off to the side.

Link chuckled when he saw Kagome blush as the group's attention was focused on her.

"That's Kagome," he explained. "She has been helping me search for all of you."

Kagome was a little nervous under the suspicious looks coming from the children, and gave a meek little wave.


	9. Epona

AN: I posted three chapters today, so be sure to go back to chapter 7 if you missed it!

Disclaimer: I don't see my non-ownership of LoZ or Inuyasha changing anytime soon. The song at the end is called ' Lullaby for a Stormy Night' by Vienna Teng.

* * *

After a while of polite conversation, Renado made his way into his house to prepare for his trip to the Goron mines. As soon as the door closed, the children turned their attention to Link. They began to plead with him to allow them to stay and to help fix the problem with the Gorons. Kagome couldn't help the giggle that came from watching Links bewildered look. After a few minutes, Link found himself climbing the base of the mountain to talk to the Goron at the top. The watchman did not even give him a chance to speak before knocking him over the ledge and down to the ground below where his companion stood waiting.

Kagome watched on in shock as Link fell painfully hard onto the ground in front of her. Gathering herself quickly, she rushed over to his fallen form.

"Link!" Skidding to a stop, she fell to her knees beside him, brushing his hair back so she could see his face. "Are you alright? Where does it hurt?"

He gave a weak chuckle at her worried voice.

"I'm fine," he wheezed as he got back up with her help. "The shield absorbed most of the impact. When that Goron hit me, it just knocked the air from my lungs."

He looked down at her face and gave her a gentle smile when he saw the worry in her eyes. Drawing her close to him, he bent down and grazed his lips against hers before whispering in her ear.

"I'm fine."

Their small moment was interrupted when they heard footsteps approach them. Pulling slightly away, they turned and saw Renado make his way to them.

"Ah, Link, how fortunate you are in one piece! I saw you heading up the mountain trail, so I was worried, though it seems not as worried as your lady friend here."

Kagome blushed and looked away when he smiled at her. He turned his attention back toward Link.

"Are you trying to reach the Gorons of Death Mountain? It is far too dangerous, Link! They only recognize strength! A normal person could never persuade them…but…I do know one person who was able to best them and earn their trust…his name is Bo. You may know him as the mayor of your hometown, Ordon. Please go to him. And while you are there, please let him know that the children are safe. Of course, getting them back would be best…but we could not keep them safe from the monsters on the road without a horse and cart… Please…return to Ordon and inform the parents that their children are free from harm. Give them my word. And as for the Gorons…I am sure Bo will be able to tell you how best to win their trust!"

With a nod of his head, he turned and made his way out of the trail and back into the village, leaving the two alone once more.

Shielding his eyes, Link looked up to the suns position.

"If we leave now, we should be able to make it back to my house just before dark."

Kagome looked worriedly up at him.

"Are you sure you want to leave now? That was a pretty big fall; you need to get some rest."

Placing his arm around her shoulders, he began to lead her back to the village.

"I'll rest as soon as I tell the villagers that the kids are fine, I promise."

Kagome sighed.

"I just don't like the idea of you traveling on foot that far without any rest."

"I wish I knew what happened to Epona."

"Epona?"

"My mare," he explained. "The last I saw of her was when Colin, Ilia and I were attacked in Ordon Spring."

They had just reached the entrance to the mountain when they felt the ground began to tremble. They turned their attention in the direction of the spring where they could hear the yells of the children, who were moving out of the way of an approaching cloud of dust. As it came closer to the two warriors, they could begin to see shapes within the cloud.

It wasn't until the cloud stormed past that they could see what caused it.

It was a large mare, and on her back were two bulblins. And it seemed, to Kagome, that she did not want them riding her.

After ridding herself of her unwanted passengers, she turned and ran back the way she came.

"Epona?!"

"What?"

Kagome's question was never answered as Link grabbed onto the horses saddle as she ran past. She watched in fearful anticipation as Link tried to calm her. After what seemed like hours, the horse finally stopped all movement and allowed her master to walk her to the spring to drink and cool down. She made her way to the group of people surrounding the horse.

After a brief discussion with the blonde warrior, it was decided that Kagome would stay and watch over the village while Link took Epona back to Ordon Village to talk to the mayor.

Kagome watched as Link made his way out of the village and turned to find the four children from Ordon staring at her.

"…umm, hi."

The smallest one was the first to speak.

"Who are you and how do you know Link?"

"My name is Kagome, and I met Link while he was searching for you," she patiently began. "I'm not from this area so I offered my help in exchange for his."

They were silent for a moment before the blonde boy spoke.

"My name is Colin, her name is Beth, his is Talo, and that is his little brother Malo."

Kagome smiled down at them. "It's nice to meet you; Link has been very worried ever since he learned that you had been taken."

Talo took his turn to speak. "Have you seen Ilia?"

She shook her head sadly.

"You're the only ones."

She noticed their faces had become crestfallen and though of a way to help fix that.

"Well," she began. "Since it seems that you want to stay here for a while, how about we explore the town?"

Beth gave her a confused look. "Why?"

"Well, to look for a good place to stay for one," she saw that they were thinking on her words. "And for another, just to see if there is anything useful."

"Useful?"

"Yes, like any weapons, cooking utensils, things like that. It could be like a treasure hunt!"

She saw their faces brighten at the idea.

"Why don't we ask Luda if she wants to come along since this is her hometown," suggested Kagome. "She might be able to help us look."

The rest of the afternoon was spent going through all of the empty buildings before deciding to use the inn as their temporary home.

Looking around, Kagome addressed the children.

"Well, it needs a bit of work, but this is the perfect place for all of you to live in until you're ready to go home." The kids cheered at this. "Why don't you go around town and find some things to brighten up the room, and I'll get started on clearing it out."

Talo looked up at her.

"Are you sure you don't want us to help in here?"

"I'm sure; you guys go out and have fun exploring."

They didn't need to be told twice before they ran outside.

The children had been gone for maybe half an hour when Kagome felt, and saw, the building shake.

"This can't be good."

Running down the stairs and out the door, she arrived just in time to see a group of bulblins riding giant boars through the town. Her breath hitched in her throat as she saw Colin's unconscious form in, what looked to be, the leader's grasp.

Looking back the way they came, she saw Beth's still form on the ground. Knowing it would be impossible to chase after them on foot, she made her way over to Beth, to see the extent of her injuries.

She nearly collapsed in relief as she saw Link and Epona come into the town. She slowed down as he stopped beside her.

"What happened?"

"A group of bulblins came and took Colin; I'm going over to check on Beth!"

Giving a nod, Link spurred his horse to run as fast as she could.

It was well past sundown when Link and Kagome made their way to one of the empty houses. After lighting a small fire and putting on a small pot of water to heat, Kagome began rummaging around for something to change into for the night.

Hearing something heavy fall to the ground behind her, she turned to see that Link had dropped his shield and sword and was arching his back, trying to rid himself of some of the tension.

"All right Link."

He turned his confused on eyes on her.

"What?"

"Everything but the pants needs to come off."

"Why?"

"I promised to rub your back earlier, remember?"

Link paused and thought back.

"Oh, yeah, you did, didn't you."

As per her directions, he stripped himself of everything but his pants. Turning to tell her he was finished, he was stopped short at the sight that met him.

Kagome had just finished removing her clothing and was in the process of reaching for a shirt she found. Link particularly enjoyed the view he received when she bent down to retrieve the shirt from the drawer. His eyes took on an odd glint as he silently made his way toward her.

Kagome had pulled on the shirt she found on when she felt an arm wrap around her waist and a pair of warm lips latched themselves on her neck. Giving out a low moan, she tilted her head to give better access to the one holding her.

She rested one hand over top the arm around her waist and the other reached behind her and buried itself into her companion's hair.

Removing his head, Link spun Kagome around and claimed her mouth with his own. Placing his hands on her waist, he picked her up and sat her down on the dresser and continued his assault on her willing person.

"AIEEEEE," a shrill shriek sounded through the night, startling the two and causing them to part.

"TALO, YOU IDIOT!"

Resting his forehead on Kagome's shoulder, let began to chuckle.

"Sounds like Talo decided it would be funny to try and scare Beth," he mused.

"Poor Talo," said Kagome. "I hope Beth doesn't hurt him too bad."

Link laughed at her, until he remembered something.

"Hey! You said you'd rub my back!"

This caused his companion to laugh at the pout on his face.

"I think that might have to wait," she said in amusement.

"Why is that?"

"Because I hear angry footsteps heading in our direction."

Turning toward the door, Link listened.

"Sounds like Beth."

Hopping off the dresser, Kagome quickly pulled on a pair of shorts she had intended on wearing to bed and takes her medicine bag out and puts it on the table beside the bed.

"What are you doing?"

"You haven't seen your back, have you?"

Giving her a confused look, Link turns his back on the mirror above the dresser and looks over his shoulder at it.

"Ouch," he winces.

"Sit on the bed so I can take a look and make sure nothing is too damaged."

"And you're doing this now, why?"

"So when a certain little girl makes her way here, you will have a legitimate reason for having your shirt off," she reasons.

Giving a shrug in agreement, Link does as he's told and sits on the edge of the bed. No sooner had he done that and Kagome began her inspection than the door flew open to reveal an upset Beth.

"Link," the little girl said angrily. "Talo is an idiot!"

"So I hear," Link laughs, and then winces as Kagome applies pressure to a tender area. "Hey now, be careful."

"This come from a guy that got pushed off a ledge and claimed he was fine."

"That was then," he countered. "This is now."

She snorted in response to his logic.

"What are you doing," asked a curious Beth.

"Right before I went back to Ordon on Epona, I was knocked off the ledge by a Goron."

"Are you alright," she gasped with wide eyes.

"He's fine," Kagome said with a bright smile. "See?" Without warning, she slapped Link's back, making him sit up straight with a pained grunt.

"See, Beth," he said through gritted teeth. "Nothing wrong with me."

Beth didn't seem convinced. "How can you tell?"

"Want me to show you," Kagome asked the young girl.

"Sure," Beth said excitedly as she scrambled up on the bed beside Kagome.

"When did I agree to be your little experiment," questioned an amused Link.

"When you decided to be a tough guy and dismiss you injuries," Kagome retorted.

"He does that a lot," Beth said sagely as Kagome giggled.

Taking the little girls hand, she gently glided it across Link's back where bruises had formed.

"Do you feel anything out place," she asked the child. "Like a bump that shouldn't be there?"

Running he hand around Link's back, she frowned. "No," she said as she concentrated.

"That means we don't have to worry about any broken bones."

"That's it?"

"It's bit more complicated than that," Kagome admits. "But since it's getting late and there was a lot of excitement today, I think it's time for everyone to go to bed."

Beth looks down at her lap nervously and fiddles with her fingers. "I was actually wondering if I could stay here with you."

Link and Kagome shared a look.

"Why don't I head over with the boys while you and Kagome sleep here tonight?"

"Are you sure," asked Beth worriedly.

"I'm sure," Link smiled at her. "I'll have a talk with Talo and see if I can get him to stop playing jokes at the wrong time."

Getting up off the bed, he puts on a shirt and his boots and heads out the door. "You two have fun now," he calls back into the room as he leaves.

Shaking her head with a smile, Kagome tucks Beth into the bed before she goes to a nearby closet and takes out some more blankets and pillows and starts to arrange them on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

Kagome glances up at Beth before continuing her work. "I'm making my bed."

"You're going to sleep on the floor?"

"It won't be so bad," Kagome assures her. "The blankets will make it soft."

Beth shuffled nervously, causing Kagome to look over her in worry. "Is there something wrong, Beth?"

"…I wouldn't mind sharing the bed," she says quietly.

Understanding dawned in Kagome's eyes as she got up from the floor and came to sit on the edge of the bed beside Beth.

"These past couple of days has been rough on you, haven't they?"

Beth nods with tears in her eyes.

"Alright," Kagome agrees. Getting up from the bed, she walks around to the opposite side and gets s in after blowing out the candle they had used as their light source. As she laid in the dark, she felt slide closer to her. Remembering doing something similar when she was a little girl, she did the same as her mother did all those years ago. Gathering the girl close, Kagome began humming a tune she learned as a child when her mother held her.

"Little child, be not afraid

Though rain pounds harshly against the glass

Like an unwanted stranger, there is no danger

I am here tonight

Little child, be not afraid

Though thunder explodes and lightning flash

Illuminates your tear-stained face

I am here tonight

And someday you'll know

That nature is so

The same rain that draws you near me

Falls on rivers and land

On forests and sand

Makes the beautiful world that you'll see

In the morning…"


	10. The Fire Temple

AN: Hi everyone! I'm glad to see so many people like the changes I've made so far. I don't think much changed about this chapter, but I still look forward to reading everyone's reviews. Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I do not own LoZ or Inuyasha!

* * *

"I did not cheat!"

"Yes, you did!"

"Not!"

"Then please explain to me how using boots made of iron, which your opponent had no idea you had, is not considered cheating."

"…"

"I'm waiting."

"Oh, leave me alone," Link said defensively. "We had to get into the temple."

"I know," she said dismissively. "I just wanted you to admit that you cheated."

Blue eyes narrowed.

"You're evil."

"No, I'm female."

The two walked in silence through the tunnel, slowly descending into the volcano.

"This tunnel seems to go on forever."

"And it's getting hotter, it feels like."

"I feel sorry for you."

"And why is that?"

"It's simple really. You're wearing layers of clothing and you're carrying those weapons."

"What are you trying to say?"

"Have fun roasting."

"I'll say it again, evil."

"I'll say it again, female."

After what seemed like an eternity, they reached the end of the tunnel. What lay before them was a cavern filled with lava. On each side, against the walls, were Goron made walkways made of metal and wood. Natural stepping stones were nestled in the lava, protected by geysers that seemed to erupt in a timely fashion.

Link carefully observed the layout before turning to his partner.

"The door is on the other side; we'll have to be very careful as we cross over."

He received a nod in return.

Although it looked complicated, it was relatively easy to cross over to the other side. That was not counting the torch slugs that decided to drop from the ceiling.

As soon as they made it to the door, Kagome stopped him to see where the slug landed on him.

"You got lucky."

"How so?"

"That slug burned a nice size hole through your clothes. It must not have been hot enough to burn through your chainmail."

"We're going to have to pay extra attention; you don't have mail on under your clothes."

Kagome sighed.

"At times like this, I wish I had a bow. All I would have to do is shoot the damn things before they dropped on us."

"We'll see about getting you one when we come across another town."

Taking her hand, they went through the door and were surprised to find themselves outside.

Walkways filled the entire cavity, each leading to a different door. Reaching up into the sky were what seemed to be giant magnets.

The sight alone would have been enough to make them stop in awe, if it were not for the bulblins firing arrows at them.

Link was quick to pull himself and Kagome behind some large boxes until they could figure out what to do.

"Now I really wish I had a bow," she growled. "Then we'll see how they like arrows being shot at them"

"We need to see if there is a door close to use that we can enter, and get out of here."

They both chanced a peek around the boxes.

"Found one."

"Where?"

"On the right, it's not chained that I can see, so we don't need a key."

"Alright, on the count of three, we run for it."

"One..."

They both stood in a crouched position, readying themselves.

"Two…"

Link tightened his hand around Kagome's.

"Three!"

They shot out from behind their shelter, Link leading Kagome as they ran and dodged the arrows. Dodging the arrows, they were finally able to reach the door, slamming it shut behind them as they passed through.

Wrapping his arms around the small female, Link slid down the door to sit on the floor, both trying to catch their breath.

"Link?"

"Hn?"

"I. Want. A. Damn. Bow!"

The blonde swordsman chuckled as his companion growled.

"Maybe we'll get lucky and find one in here somewhere."

"We better," she growled.

After a short break, the two began to make their way through the tunnels of the Goron Mines, with Link making good use of his iron boots. Needless to say, Link found out how extensive Kagome's vocabulary was as he carried her across magnetic walls and ceilings.

As they made their way through, they came across Goron elders; each gave them a piece of the key that unlocked the door containing their cursed patriarch.

Along with the key shard, the second elder gave them some important information. Beyond his door, rested the weapon of a hero from long ago.

"Either we have incredible luck, or someone knew we would need it."

"What?"

"It's pretty convenient that an ancient warrior left his weapon in the care of the Gorons and they just gave us permission to take without so much as batting an eye."

"Maybe they like us, or think we'll need it."

"Yeah, ok. Where I'm from, if you're given an ancient, and possibly powerful, weapon by its guardian, there is usually a reason."

"I guess we'll see when we reach it."

And passing through yet, another door, our heroes find themselves in a large circular room. Looking down from the platform they were on, they saw the bottom of the room filled with lava. To get across, they would have to walk on the large stone suspended before them. The stone was covered with the same metallic blue material Link used his iron boots to walk on.

"Wait here until I get across."

"Why?"

"Remember in the Forest Temple when we got the boomerang?"

"Yes."

"We had to fight that monkey first."

"I understand what you're saying but why do I need to stay behind?"

"If we end up having to fight something, it will most likely be on that stone. Since I have the boots, it would be safer for me to cross first just in case."

"It's only because I can't really argue with that am I agreeing."

Link gave her a smile before he made his way across.

He made it halfway before a large boulder flew up into the air and landed in front of him. Upon landing, the boulder unraveled itself to reveal a very large Goron. And he didn't look too happy at seeing Link.

"Whoa…Human? What business does a human have coming here? None! No business! This is a forbidden place! I will protect this treasure from you!"

The large Goron jumped into the air and landed hard on the stone, snapping the chains that kept it suspended.

"Link!"

"I'm fine, just stay up there!"

Link turned back to his opponent just in time to avoid a giant fist to his face.

"Wait! We have per…"

The Goron didn't even seem to hear him. Link continued to dodge the swipes before he noticed a pattern. After a few swipes, the Goron would hold his arms up for a bit before bringing them down.

'Next time he brings his arms up; I'll get him in the stomach.'

And that is precisely what he did.

They continued this dance a few more times before the steps were changed. Without warning, the Goron rolled himself back into a ball and charged Link. Too shocked by the speed at which the attack came, Link was hit and skid along the platform and over the edge. Luckily he was able to grab hold of the edge. He barely heard Kagome's scream over the sound of his heart pounding in his ears. Pulling himself back onto the platform, he moved as quickly as he could away from the edge.

'This seems familiar, but where did I see this before?'

He dodged a few more rolls before Kagome shouted down to him.

"Link, it's the same as when we climbed up the mountain!"

His eyes widened in realization.

'Of course!'

Quickly equipping his iron boots, Link crouched down, ready for his large opponent. As the Goron made his way to him, Link stood his ground, waiting. As soon as he came upon him, Link grabbed hold of him and tossed him to the side and into the lava pit. The Goron flew out of the lava pit and sat, exhausted, in the center of the platform. As he walked over to him, Link barely noticed the lava level rising, bringing the platform back to its original position.

"Link!"

The sound of his name made him turn just in time to catch Kagome as she leapt into his arms.

She had just opened her mouth to either ask if he was ok, or yell at him, when the Goron spoke.

"Ugh…That…hurt a lot. Who knew that humans were capable of such feats of strength… …Uh…Maybe…you are…going to see the patriarch of our tribe?"

The two just nodded.

"…Ah! So THAT is why you are here! In that case, take the weapon of the Hero of the past… But in exchange, you must save the patriarch of our tribe! With skills like yours, even the patriarch can be brought back to his senses… Take the Hero's weapon and save our patriarch!"

By now, Kagome was mad.

"Listen here buddy; this whole thing could have been avoided if you had just stopped to listen to us instead of straight out attacking. And for you information, we already told your elders that we would help to save your patriarch! Furthermore, Gor Ebizo already gave us permission to take the weapon!"

Link watched on, amused, as his partner gave the stunned Goron a verbal lashing. Deciding that the poor thing suffered enough, he placed his hand on the small of her back and led her to the other side. Crossing over into the next room, they see a chest. Following the path, they made it to the chest and opened it.

"Yes, yes, yes! It's mine, I call it!"

Link chuckles at her excitement.

"Are you happy that you finally have a bow?"

She just nods happily before getting an evil little grin on her face that causes the male beside her to raise an eyebrow in question.

"Let's see those little suckers try and shoot at me now," she cackled with a mad glint in her eyes.

Rolling his eyes, the blonde warrior leads her out of the cavern.

"Let's get the last key shard and see what we can do about the patriarch, shall we?"

It was fairly simple to get the last shard and make their way to where the patriarch was being held. The room they found themselves in was dark with a faint glow coming from the floor. Pillars stood tall, almost as if to cage a beast. Walking further into the room, the came to a large figure chained in the center of the room.

"Do you think he's asleep?"

As soon as the last word left her mouth, what appeared to be a jewel, began to glow on his forehead.

"I think he's awake, actually."

The dark haired female turned to him.

"Really? I hadn't noticed."

Link shrugged.

"You asked."

Before Kagome had a chance to retort, the large figure suddenly caught fire.

"They didn't mention he could do that."

They stumbled into each other as the ground shook when he broke free from the pillars.

"I don't think he was supposed to do that."

"You think?"

They hid behind the pillars, keeping out of his sight until they could form a plan of attack.

"Maybe if I shoot at him."

"Where?"

Kagome chanced a peek to catch a glimpse of the beast.

"His forehead, it lit up just before he lit up."

Link nodded at her.

"Try it."

Notching an arrow, Kagome aimed at the jewel. Upon release, it shot true and made a hit. The possessed creature clutched his head in pain and stumbled about.

"Did it work?"

Her question was answered as the beast shook off the pain and made quick strides to where they hid.

"Don't think so."

Grabbing her wrist, Link led her to a different part of the room. As they moved, Link noticed the floor, and got an idea. Crouching down behind another pillar, Link turned to Kagome.

"I'm going to move across from you, when you have a shot, take it."

"What? But it didn't work."

"Trust me, I have an idea."

Link carefully made his way across the room. Kagome, seeing him in position, raised herself up and once more lined up her shot.

It was another hit.

As soon as the beast clutched his head, she saw Link put on his iron boots and grab hold of one of the chains that was used to hold his legs. The creature once more shook off his pain and made his way towards her. Seeing the beast's destination, Link held on tightly to the chain. The chain soon lost its slack and Link gave a hard tug. Not expecting the pull, the beast tripped and fell onto the floor. Not wasting any time, Link dropped the chain and ran to the creatures head. Drawing his sword, he slashed at the jewel until it begins to glow again. Running quickly, Link crouched down beside Kagome, waiting to see what happens. The jewel continued to glow brighter before it explodes into various shards. The shards gather in front of the duo begin to take shape. As soon as it's finished, everyone's favorite imp makes her appearance.

"Eee hee hee! Well done! Now we have two Fused Shadows… Hmm…you know, you've been very helpful so far, so as a reward, I'll tell you an interesting story. Zant. That's the name of the King of Darkness who cast this spell of shadows over your world. He's very strong. You would be nothing to him in your current state… But Zant will never be my king! I have nothing but scorn for his supposed strength. Not that your Zelda is much better… It still appalls me that this world of light is controlled by that princess. A carefree youth, a life of luxury…How does that teach duty? …But I guess I shouldn't begrudge the circumstances of her life. She didn't choose it, after all. And I would never wish harm on her… No, as long as I can get my hands on the Fused Shadows, I'll be just fine. Well, just one more left… Shall we? Eee hee hee!"

Taking Kagome's hand in his, Link led her into the portal that would take them back to Kakariko Village.


	11. Finding Friends and Burning Bridges

AN: Another chapter already?! Eh, I'm getting sort of impatient to hear what you guys think of the new content that I'm posting the unchanged chapters quicker to get to the new stuff. Hope you enjoy and I look forward to reading your reviews!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

" _Spirit People"_

 _Spirit_

* * *

In no time at all, the two warriors found themselves in front of the sacred pool in Kakariko, the giant bird of light waiting for them.

 _Heroic warriors..._

 _North of here, across the plain and past the great stone bridge, in the lands_

 _Guarded by the spirit Lanayru..._

 _You shall find one who you seek..._

"'One who you seek'," Kagome repeated before turning to Link. "Could the spirit mean your friend?"

"Ilia? I think so."

The sound of feet pounding on the dusty ground caused them to turn and see the remaining inhabitants of the village. The children all spoke at once, asking their hero about his adventure. Link laughed before squatting down in front of them.

"I will tell you all about my adventures when this is all over, but for now, Kagome and I need to get going. We may have found a lead concerning Ilia's location."

The children were all shocked into silence. It was Colin who was the first to speak.

"Link... Ilia... You've got to save Ilia! Those monsters left me with the other kids, but they must have taken her somewhere else! Whenever I thought I couldn't go on, I would think of you and Ilia and hold on, Link... See? I...I'm fine now. Remember what I told you back in Ordon, Link? When I grow up, I'm going to be just like you, Link! So you don't have to worry about me anymore! Go help Ilia!"

Link smiled sadly at the brave boy, and ruffled his hair affectionately.

"We'll do our best to find her, I promise."

Hearing Epona neigh, Link looked up and saw Kagome preparing her for the journey ahead. After saying their goodbyes, Link hoisted himself and Kagome onto the strong mare. Renado came forward.

"Leave the children to me. I will watch over them, I swear it. Do not let their fates trouble you. Go to those who need you. In Hyrule, countless tales are told of the ancient hero...and your deeds bring them all to mind. May the graces of the great goddesses who shaped Hyrule bear you on your way."

Kagome smiled down at the man, "Thank you for all your help."

With one last parting wave, the three made their way through the North Gate, toward Lanayru Province.

~* Scene Change *~

They had journeyed half the day by the time they reached the Bridge of Eldin. Kagome looked on in awe.

"It's beautiful," she breathed.

"I understand that the bridge overseeing Lake Hylia is much more impressive, but I agree."

Kagome thought for a minute.

"Isn't this the bridge you said you rescued Colin from?"

"It is."

"That poor boy."

"Luckily he was unconscious the whole time."

"Thank goodness for small miracles."

Lightly spurning the horse, they once more began their trek. They had just passed over the bridge when a loud rumbling came from behind them.

"Oh, what now?!"

They both turned just in time to see a large portion of the bridge being teleported away, and then watched as more monsters fell from the same portal.

*Cue crickets*

"Are you serious?!"

"Well, at least they waited till we crossed before destroying the bridge."

Link's optimism was rewarded with a punch in the shoulder. Chuckling, he slid down from Epona before turning back to Kagome and offering her his hand.

"Shall we take care of these monsters, my lady," he asked in a posh voice.

Giving a small laugh, Kagome placed her hand in his.

"Indeed we shall, good sir."

It was definitely harder to fight the creatures as humans, but they eventually won.

"I think I prefer fighting them as a wolf."

Link sheathed his sword.

"I have to agree with you on that."

Getting back on Epona, they continued on their way. It was another hour or so before the path became suddenly dark. It would seem that the light in that area was overshadowed by a familiar looking wall.

"Truthfully, I'm not all that surprised that we came upon another of these."

After dismounting Epona, the two warriors made their way to the wall.

Oh look, it's our favorite imp!

"Ah, we're finally here. There's only one Fused Shadow left... So this is the last of the twilight you'll see, I guess. Whether or not you accomplish your final task and survive is up to you... Eee hee! So what will you do? Want me to let you into the twilight?"

Kagome fixed an annoyed look in the imp's direction.

"Midna, you know very well we need you to let us in, otherwise we wouldn't be here, now would we?"

With a mock sigh, Midna replied.

"All right then, I guess I'll have to help you! But what a shame, that this is the last of the twilight... I had become so fond of seeing it covering this world... Or... is it really the last you'll see? Eee hee! So, shall we get going?"

The floating shadow just laughed before launching herself into the wall behind her. And just like before, Link and Kagome found themselves gripped by a large orange hand and roughly pulled through.

~* On the Other Side *~

Once more, the two found themselves in the hauntingly beautiful twilight.

 _ **You know, that time the change wasn't so bad.**_

The large wolf looked down at the smaller female.

 **I can't believe I'm saying this, but I actually missed being a wolf.**

Kagome bumped her head on the underside of his muzzle.

 _ **Come on; let's find the Guardian Spirit so we can turn this place back to normal.**_

Link waited a moment before he felt the familiar weight upon his back. Now that his passenger was seated comfortably, Link leading the way. It only took a short while before they came across a small bag on the road, the strap broken.

Link stops short and stares at it.

 _ **Link, what's wrong?**_

Completely focused on the bag, the large wolf stepped towards it and lowers his nose, trying to find the scent. The image the scent portrays in his mind is that of a young woman with short hair. Her image triggers a memory in Link's mind.

" _But, Link... Can you at least promise me this? Just come home safely."_

 _ **Link…LINK!**_

Hearing the shout shakes him from his trance.

 **It's Ilia's.**

 _ **What is?**_

 **The bag, it's the one she always kept on her.**

 _ **That's great, now all we need to do it follow the scent to find her!**_

Kagome had barely gotten the last word out of her mouth before Link shot away as if the dogs of hell were following him.

 _ **That stupid idiot is going to get himself killed,**_ she grumbled before shooting off after him. She followed him as he weaved through various creatures until they came upon a draw bridge.

"Hey, haven't we seen this castle before? Eee hee hee!"

Midna seemed particularly gleeful for some reason.

"So, we finally made it back here! Well, only a little farther, so hang in there! Or so I'd like to say, but... The going's a lot harder from here on out... Eee hee hee! All right, then... Let's get started."

 **She's in here somewhere.**

 _ **Well, lead the way.**_

Once more, Kagome followed her companion through the town. Avoiding the ghostly figures and traveling through back alleys. As they made their way through, Kagome heard snippets of conversations.

"… _Zora child collapsed near here!"_

"… _typically found up north…"_

"… _bar…on southern road."_

"… _Telma's bar?"_

 _ **Link?**_

 **Hm?**

 _ **What's a Zora?**_

 **Why?**

 _ **Those women back there were saying something about a Zora child collapsing near here and are now at a bar owned by someone named Telma.**_

 **Zora's are water creatures. They live way in the north and very rarely come down this far. If a child is here, then something must have happened.**

They stopped and listened to an older couple, hoping to learn more.

" _The water level of Lake Hylia has gone down, and you can't cross to the spirit's cave."_

" _If the people who came to worship from far away heard that, they'd be very disappointed..."_

 **That's not good.**

 _ **For them, or for us?**_

 **Both. Lake Hylia is the primary water source for Hyrule.**

 _ **This could be problematic.**_

 **Yes, it could.**

The two wolves and the imp continued to follow the scents trail through a door located in one of the back alleys. It would appear that they have stepped into some sort of tavern.

 _ **This must be the bar we heard those people talking about earlier. What do you think? Link? Link!**_

The large male didn't even hear her. His attention was solely focused on the group of people located in the corner. The group consisted of a red-haired woman, a child with blue skin and a young woman with short hair.

 **Ilia.**

Completely ignoring the female wolf by his side, Link cautiously stepped over to the group. Kagome watched as the younger woman turned to the older.

" _This boy... Can you save him?_ "

The red-haired woman smiled down at her.

" _All right, little lady, try to settle down, OK? I just now sent for the doctor!"_

She looked at the unconscious child with a thoughtful frown on her face.

" _But this is strange... A child of the Zora's... I wonder if this is at all related to the incident the soldiers were talking about in back..."_

Midna appeared before Link, looking more gleeful than before, if that was even possible.

"Aw, what an emotional reunion! Yes, a girl and her wolf! Eee hee! Sorry, but you know how it goes! These folks can't see you, either... Eee hee hee!"

Choosing to ignore her, he slowly stepped over to his childhood friend. Seeing the worried look on her face, he tried to nudge her with his muzzle, but just passed through her. He stepped back from her with a whine, his ears drooping. He barely noticed Kagome come sit next to him.

 _ **I know you want to stay with her, but we know she is safe and we have to find the Spirit.**_

 **I know, but where do we start?**

 _ **Those people in town were talking about a Cave in Lake Hylia, and I thought I saw a map on the table over by those soldiers.**_

 **Alright, let's check it out.**

They arrived over to the group of soldiers just in time to hear their commander yelling at them.

" _We've had a ton of complaints from citizens who can't send prayers to the spring spirit of Lake Hylia. Go there! The location is the one I showed you on the map earlier! Got it? What? Study it and know it well! I told you! The citizens are upset that they can't pray to the spring spirit of Lake Hylia! The location is written there on that map on the table! Have you figured it out yet? Study it well! And don't even THINK about shirking your duty! I've received orders from above to investigate why we can't go to the spirit's spring in Lake Hylia! Got that?"_

The pair just stood blinking at the group in awe.

 **Is it just me or…**

 _ **Was that entirely too convenient?**_

 **Yes.**

 _ **It's either that or these guys are just stupid.**_

 **Truthfully, I don't know which scares me more.**

 _ **I agree. Oh well, never look a gift horse in the mouth. Let's take a look at that map and head out.**_

They took a quick glance at the map, and Kagome found herself even more annoyed with the soldiers.

 _ **Link?**_

 **Yes?**

 _ **According to this map, the road leading straight to the lake is just outside the drawbridge, right?**_

 **It appears so, where are you going with this…why are you growling?**

Link found it impressive that her next statement sounded like she was saying it through her teeth.

 _ **The entrance to the path leading to the lake is about 100 feet away from the drawbridge, AND THESE IDIOTS NEED A MAP TO FIND IT?!**_

Link was hesitant to approach the irate female.

 _ **Maybe they…**_

 **Maybe nothing! It's no wonder that this Zant character took over! These soldiers are idiots!**

 _ **Well, that's a bit harsh**_ _._

His companion fixed him with a glare that dared him to repeat that statement. Thankfully, Link was never one to be considered stupid.

 **Why don't we just head to the lake?**

 _ **Good idea, get me away from these morons.**_

Link spent the walk amusing himself by listening to Kagome mutter to herself about 'stupid guards', and hearing the name Sesshomaru thrown in repeatedly.

 **If you're quite done, I have something to tell you.**

 _ **What's that?**_

 **Welcome the Great Hylian Bridge.**

Kagome's ears perked right up.

 _ **We're here already?**_

And indeed they were. Before them lay a great stone bridge, which seemed to glow in the twilight that covered the area.

 **You can admire it later; we need to find a way down to the lake.**

 _ **You promise?**_

 **Yes, now started moving woman.**

 _ **I'll get you back for that comment.**_

 **And I'll be waiting for it.**

The pair made it to the middle of the bridge before something on the other side of the bridge caught their attention.

 **Is that a bulblin?**

 _ **Who cares what it is, why does it have a flaming arrow?**_

It was Midna who discovered an important detail.

"...Hey, do you smell anything funny?"

 _ **I have a bad feeling about this.**_

They watched as the creature set his arrow and let it fly. To their horror, it was not aimed at them; it was aimed at the strange smelling liquid that covered the bridge.

 **It's oil, run!**

 _ **There's another one on the other side!**_

"Oh no! We're trapped! Get out of here!"

 **Kagome, help me push this box.**

 _ **What?**_

 **We're going to have to jump. Hurry, the fire is getting closer!**

 _ **Alright.**_

The two wolves worked together to push the box against the wall of the bridge. Climbing up onto the box, they looked down.

 _ **Is there enough water?**_

 **We're just going to have to chance it. Now, JUMP!**

Together they jump from the bridge just as the fire engulfed the box they were just standing on, the water below them rushing up to meet them.


	12. Lake Hylia

AN: Again, no change in this chapter, but enjoy it anyway!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

" _Spirit People"_

* * *

*SPLASH*

The two wolves were fortunate to land in the middle of the once great lake. As soon as they had gathered their bearings, they began to dog paddle to the shore. Upon reaching land, the two shook out their fur and plopped onto the ground.

Link laid his head on Kagome's neck, similar to when they rested in Ordon Spring.

"Phew... That was a close one. We're lucky there was a puddle down below, huh? So this is Lake Hylia... But there's so little water..."

Well, at least Midna was ok.

"It sounds like the spirit's spring should be somewhere around here as well... Anyway, let's take a look around..."

She blinked as Link curled his lip and gave a little growl, before closing his eyes and resting back on his furry pillow.

 _ **Be nice.**_

 **I was being nice. We just jumped off a bridge to avoid being burned alive. I refuse to move unless my heart starts beating normally.**

 _ **So…naptime?**_

 **Sounds good to me.**

 _ **Nice try. We need to go find the temple.**_

Link groaned as he stood and stretched, Kagome doing the same. Looking around, Link noticed something.

 **It might be a good idea to hone our senses.**

 _ **Yeah, maybe it would give us clue as to what is happening here.**_

After waiting for Midna to situate herself on Link's back, the trio began walking toward the nearest balls of light. Using their senses, they found themselves in front of a Zora.

" _The drop in water has been faster than predicted... At this rate, Lake Hylia will dry up. It's a race against time...At this rate, the lake will most definitely vanish if we don't somehow get water from Zora's Domain upstream..."_

 _ **That doesn't sound good.**_

 **No, it doesn't. Let's go listen to what those two are saying.**

" _We've had absolutely no water flowing from upstream..."_

 _"There's no mistaking it. Something must have happened at the water's source in our home, Zora's Domain."_

 _"Yet how are we to return upstream to our home? With the way things are now, we can't even walk back there…"_

 _"There must be a way...For now, we just need to find a way back upstream."_

" _I wonder if the queen and our peers in Zora's Domain are safe…"_

 _ **So, I guess we should head up towards Zora's Domain then.**_

 **That's where we need to go. The only problem is finding a way to get there.**

They were silent as they tried to figure a way around this latest hurtle.

 _ **Well, we won't get anywhere just standing here. Let's walk around and listen for any more clues.**_

 **That's better than standing here doing nothing.**

The trio was once again on the move. They passed by a few more Zora's and eventually found themselves in front of a cottage with a tall roof. In front of the cottage stood, what appeared to be, a clown; a sad clown, but still a clown. If not for their canine ears, they would not have heard what he was mumbling about under his breath.

 _ **I thought clowns were supposed to be happy and energetic?**_

 **Maybe he's a sad clown.**

… _ **There are so many places I can go with that, but I just can't work up the energy.**_

 _"Hurrrm... I'm too old for this... Fyer and Falbi's Watertop Land of Fantastication... It's our grand_ _reopening at our new lake-bottom location... Whee. Hurrrm... Yeah, nice lake... Don't lakes have more...I don't know...water? Did the Zoras who live upriver do something? Or is it a curse from that spirit that floats around up there? Whatever. It's not like I can go up and complain... That's way too high."_

He stopped his pacing and squinted into the distance.

 _"Whuzzat, a customer?! YIKES! IT'S A MONSTER!"_

The clown man began trembling before running into the cottage.

 _ **Oh goody, entertainment.**_

 **There's only one of them. I wonder what it's doing out here by itself.**

 _ **Waiting for me to tear it apart?**_

 **I somehow doubt that. Oh well, let's go.**

The two made their way to the far side of the clearing. As they approached the twilit bulblin, it did something strange. Instead of engaging them in a fight, it ran away.

 _ **Did it just run away?**_

 **That's strange. Usually when they see us they run right at us.**

 _ **I'm getting a bad feeling about this.**_

The two watched as the bulblin stopped, pulled out a horn and blew into it.

 _ **Bad feeling getting stronger.**_

As soon as the bulblin stopped, he stared at them and then looked up into the sky.

 **I wonder what it's looking for.**

Their musings were cut short and a giant bird came flying from the cliffs and landed by the bulblin, causing the ground to shake.

 **That is a big birdie.**

 _ **That's an ugly, big birdie.**_

They watched as the bulblin climbed atop the giant bird and took to the air and began to hover.

 **Why is it just hovering there?**

Link's question was soon answered as the massive beast flapped its wings and shot towards them. The bird barreled between the two wolves, momentarily separating them.

 _ **Maybe, and this is just a thought, it's hovering because it's waiting for a chance to attack.**_

Link looked over to Kagome and gave her the driest look his wolf face could muster.

 **Really? I would have never thought of that.**

 _ **Pay attention, it looks like it's about to attack.**_

 **Any ideas?**

 _ **Attack back?**_

The large wolf thought to himself for a second.

 **When it charges, I'll attack and hopefully it will know the rider off.**

 _ **And I go after the rider?**_

 **Yes.**

 _ **I like your plan.**_

 **Great, then get ready.**

Both wolves crouched down as the bird came at them. As planned, Link jumped at it and latched onto its chest, causing the bird to thrash and throw his rider off. Kagome ran as fast as she could to catch the bulblin before he gained his bearings and called for the bird again. The monster saw her coming and tried to run far enough to call his pet.

 _ **Don't even think about it!**_

Unfortunately for the bulblin, Kagome was much faster than he was and soon caught up and made quick work of him. She turned back to see Link jump away from his opponent as it fell to the ground and began to make her way back to his side. They stood side by side, staring at the bird-like monster.

 _ **So…what do we do with it?**_

 **I don't know. What do you want to do with it?**

Kagome had no chance to answer when Midna appeared and seated herself on the bird's back. It would seem that the bird did not like this, as it tried to buck her off.

"Hey! Stop it! I'm your new master now! Settle down! Hey! Why don't we use this guy to get us all the way to the lake's water source?"

Without waiting for any answer, Midna instructed the bird to pick up the wolves and they began their flight thru the tunnel and into Zora's Domain. In what seemed to not time at all, even with the multiple arrows flying at them, the three companions, along with their newest mode of transportation, finally made it out of the tunnel and into a clearing with a small gorge cutting it in half. After dropping off its passengers, the giant bird flew away until it was called upon again.

As always, Midna made herself comfortable on Link's back.

"Ah... We're already here?! That bird turned out to be more useful than I expected. Well, then... Where's the village of the Zoras? Let's look for it. It's getting cold... Hurry up!"

The group made their way over a bridge, their senses honed, and passed a young woman muttering to herself about the river drying up and wanting her fur coat.

 _ **Well she's not getting mine.**_

 **You wouldn't share with someone in need?**

 _ **What she 'needs' is to put more clothes on when it's this cold, not sit there and whine about it!**_

 **Meow. Down kitty, retract those little claws.**

 _ **I'm a wolf, genius, not a cat.**_

 **And very pretty wolf at that.**

Kagome was thankful for her dark fur, it easily hid her blush.

Following a worn path, they soon came upon a dark tunnel that was covered in a thin layer of ice. Upon exiting the tunnel, their eyes were met with a horrible sight.

"Oh... Hey... What's going on here? I thought it was getting colder...but who would have thought that it would all be frozen?! This is the Zora village, right? Why don't I see any, then... Well... Anyway, let's check things out. Let's find the Zoras... I think we can get up from here... Let's go..."

It was a difficult journey up the Cliffside. They had to beware of falling icicles and they had to time their jumps very carefully so as not to fall. After much jumping, and a few close calls, they finally made it to the top of the frozen falls.


	13. Zora's Domain

AN: I don't think much was changed about this chapter, but I hope you enjoy it anyway!

Disclaimer: Still don't own it!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

" _Spirit People"_

* * *

The three made their way through the stone tunnel, hoping it lead toward answers. All too soon the tunnel opened up into a large chamber. Circular in its shape, it looked to be carved straight from the stone walls that surrounded it. In the middle of the floor were steps that looked to lead where a pool once rested, had it not been frozen over. Surrounding the steps were pillars that held lattice like walls between them. The two farthest pillars, however, held no wall between them. Instead, just behind the pillars, an empty throne rested. The two wolves slowly made their way toward the throne.

 _ **Where are all the Zora?**_

 **I don't know.**

They had just reached the center of the frozen pool when they found themselves, once again, trapped within the twilight fence, complete with three Twilit Messengers.

 **Maybe they know where are?**

 _ **How about you ask, and I'll just sit here and laugh while they smack you around?**_

Link's response was to grab her tail and give a light tug, which caused her to yelp.

 **How about you take the one by itself, and I'll take the other two after.**

 _ **Sounds fine to me.**_

Following the plan, they easily made quick work of the monsters.

 _ **Well that was…**_

"Whoa! Hey! Down! Look below the ice!"

 _ **What are we…what the…are those…**_

 **Yeah, those are the Zora.**

"Those... Those are the Zora! Wow... This is really strange... What in the world happened? Hey... What do you want to do? We can't just leave them like this... I think all we need to do is thaw them out... It does us no good to just stand here thinking... Let's leave and come back later. The portal should work for us. We need to find a way to melt the ice and then come back here..."

 **Wow, she actually seems concerned.**

 _ **You're right. But what can we do to help them?**_

They paused to think of a way to free the frozen captives.

 _ **Thaw…**_

 **Hmm?**

 _ **Midna said 'thaw'! Remember when we went to Death Mountain and that large rock fell in front of us?!**_

 **Yes.**

 _ **We can have Midna use the portal to bring it here!**_

 **That's right! That should be plenty hot enough to melt the ice around this place.**

 _ **And it may even help the water to flow again and refill the lake!**_

 **Let me get the map and show Midna where to go. I'll go with her this time since you went last time.**

 _ **Ok.**_

Doing just as he said, the wolf and the imp soon departed. It did not take long for them return and drop the heated rock right into the middle of the frozen pool.

As predicted, the water heated up enough to begin thawing all the ice within all of Zora's Domain. This included the waterfall outside and began melting all the frozen water before moving outward and continuing to free itself.

"Who knew that something so dangerous would come in handy... All right... The Zora are safe now, so let's go. The ice melted and restored the water flow to normal. Can we finally meet the spirit of Lake Hylia?"

They turned to begin the trek back the lake when an ethereal voice stopped them.

 _"Wait!"_

The group turned and saw before them the spirit of a Zora woman. She wore a dress that layered like the petals of a rose at her hips before fanning out past her feet, much like the tail of a mermaid. Unlike the other Zora's, she had hair upon her head that looked like coral when looked at closely. Her face though, looked familiar to them, but they could not think of where.

 _"Please, you must allow me to thank you for revitalizing both my people and this spring, which is the water source for all the lands of Hyrule. In life, I was the elder of this Zora village and the queen of my people. I was called Rutela."_

"Not to be rude, but we didn't exactly do it for you guys..."

…

 _ **At least she's honest.**_

 _"The dark ones... They raided this village and, as a message to my people, executed me before them. Young ones... You who takes the form of proud beasts... I have something to ask of you. When the dark ones descended upon our village, I sent my young one, Ralis, to Hyrule Castle to inform Princess Zelda of our fate. But...I fear danger followed him from this doomed place. I feel it. His presence grows fainter to me over time... But my time in this world has passed, and though I would give it gladly, I no longer have a life to risk in his rescue. Please... Would you save my dearest, Prince Ralis? If you do this thing, I will bestow upon you the protection of water. This power will grant you the ability to swim and respire in very deep water as if you were a Zora. Please... Save my son..."_

After her plea, the image of the fallen Queen faded back into nothingness. The group was silent as they thought about what they had just heard. But, of course, Midna had to break the silence.

"Hmm... So, if we help her, she'll grant you the power to swim in deep water like a Zora, huh? So... What do you say, Hero? ...Oh, but now that I think about it, I don't suppose you should meet the prince as a wolf, huh? Eee hee! So... No hurry to return you to the world of light, then, right?"

 _ **She just loves her sarcasm, doesn't she?**_

 **Sounds like it.**

Once more, the group began to make their way back toward the entrance so as to return to Lake Hylia. The part of the Domain below the throne looked very different from the frozen wasteland that they first happened upon. The haunting beauty of the twilight reflected its orange glow on to the water and throughout the clearing. The water, though, did not seem as calm as one would think resting in such a place.

"Looks like the shock of that impact not only raised the water level, but sped up the flow, too... This water should flow all the way down to the lake. Why don't you let it take you there?"

Well what do you know; it seems Midna had an answer for that. Surprise, surprise.

 _ **It doesn't look as high as the jump from the bridge.**_

 **And at least we know there is large body of water to catch us.**

…

…

 **So on three?**

 _ **Yeah.**_

 **1…**

 _ **2…**_

And together, our furry little friends jumped from the high platform into the water below. It seemed that Midna was right about the flow of the water. As soon as they splashed into it, they found that the current was pulling them along a set course, before passing out that is.


	14. Dreams and Nightmares

AN: Yay, new chapter! Hope to read your reviews!

Disclaimer: Still don't own!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

 _Spirit_

* * *

Link knew he was dreaming. There was no possible way he was awake. For one, he was human. For another, he was in a hot spring. And the biggest indicator…

"I thought I would join you, hope you don't mind."

Kagome was standing in front of him, her hair piled on top of her head, wearing a very small robe.

'If it can even be called that,' he thought distractedly.

The robe was a light purple with a darker trim and was much, much, shorter than the top she wore. We're talking so short it stopped just below the area it was meant to cover. Her top was opened wide enough to show how well-endowed she was, without completely exposing her. The steam from the spring caused a light sheen of sweat to glisten on the exposed parts of her body.

'Yes, this is definitely a dream. But damn if it isn't a good one!'

Now Link considered himself a good person. He helped his neighbors and would never take advantage of anyone.

"No, I don't mind. There's plenty of room."

But then again, this is a dream. And he is male, who would fault him?

Giving him a bright smile, dream Kagome removed her "robe" and stepped into the spring.

He stayed sitting where he was and watched as she made her over to where he was. With a coy smile, she straddled his lap and moved his arms so that they were wrapped around her waist. Tilting his head up, he closed as she brought her face towards his own and softly kissed him before releasing him and bringing her mouth close to his ear while her free hand slid down his chest on its way 'Little Link'.

"Wake up."

'Why does she sound like Midna?'

Slowly opening his eyes, he found himself lying on a stone bank and face to face with the evil little imp.

"Ugh... Aren't you awake yet? Look! We got washed all the way down to Lake Hylia, just as I predicted... And it looks like we're right in front of the spirit's spring, to boot. Talk about lucky... Well, let's go! Snap out of it and get to the spirit!"

… **DAMN IT!**

 _ **Are you okay?**_

Looking towards his left, he saw the wolf version of the object of his dream sitting there with her head tilted.

Laying his head back on the ground, he covered his head with his paws.

 **I was having a nice dream and then woke up face to face with a nightmare.**

He heard her laughter within his head.

 _ **Poor baby.**_

With a sigh, he got to his feet.

 **Let's go meet the spirit, so we can be human again.**

Together they made their way into the dark cave.

The cavern that they came to was large. All around the walls were stone fixtures sticking out. They stood on an outcropping that rested a good couple feet above a pool of water. And there, just a few feet away, rested a golden cloud.

 _I am...the last of the spirits of light...consumed...by twilight..._

 _Heroes... Chosen one of the gods... You have...done well to make it this far..._

 _Gather...my scattered Tears of Light...that were stolen by shadow..._

 _Gather them...in this..._

 _I am sure...you know by now...the forms...that these dark insects take..._

 _.when they steal...our light..._

 _In this shadow realm...of twilight...the insects...are invisible...like the_

 _humans...of this world..._

 _Collect...my light... Lift the final cloud of twilight...that threatens to cover_

… _all of Hyrule..._

Just as before, they were given a vessel to contain the Tears of Light they collected.

Looking at the map, they saw that they had much more ground to cover than before. It would seem that the Twilit Parasites were at the lake, in Castle Town and Zora's Domain.

 _ **That's weird.**_

 **What is?**

 _ **The vessel has 15 pods to hold the Tears, but I only count 14 bugs.**_

Link took a moment to study the map.

 **You're right. Oh, well. Let's just start with the ones we can see now, then we'll worry about the 15th.**

 _ **Okay.**_

Following the map, they quickly found all of the bugs that they could see.

 _ **Whew. That was a lot of running.**_

 **It was. Should we check the map and make sure we got all of them?**

 _ **Probably should.**_

 **Now where did that come from?**

 _ **What?**_

 **It's showing the 15th bug in the middle of the lake.**

 _ **What? I don't remember seeing any other bugs down there!**_

 **Let's go back and check it out.**

 _ **Might as well.**_

They made it back to Lake Hylia and stopped where the map said the bug was. Honing their senses, they saw a ball of lightning move through the water before disappearing.

 _ **Where is it?**_

Her question was answered when a giant bug burst through the water and into the air.

 _ **Holy…**_

 **Yeah…**

…

…

 _ **Shall we?**_

 **We shall.**

Using their brains and teamwork (and because I just don't feel like describing this particular scene), the giant bug was defeated and they soon found themselves human and standing in front of a giant snake made of pure light.

 _My name is Lanayru._

 _Your efforts have at last restored each of us light spirits in Hyrule._

 _O hero chosen by the gods..._

 _The dark power that you seek..._

 _It waits in a temple set in the bed of Lake Hylia._

 _...But before seeking it, you must now bear witness to something...and never_

 _forget it._

 _You must know that it was the will of the goddesses that we lock away the_

 _forbidden power..._

Link and Kagome listened to the spirits voice and soon found themselves in a world of darkness. Looking at each other, they noticed that their clothing had changed again. Link was once again in his normal clothes while Kagome was dressed very differently.

Her outfit was almost similar to what he was used to seeing her wearing. She still had a sleeveless kimono, but this one was longer, and a light purple with a pink obi. Instead of fingerless gloves, attached to her biceps were the sleeves of her kimono. Her legs were covered in off-white pants that ended at her knees. On her feet was a pair of ordinary sandals. Her hair was also different. Instead of a single braid, two ponytails rested behind each ear.

They looked at each other and smiled before their attention was brought back to Lanayru as he once more began to speak.

 _When all was chaos, the goddesses descended and gave order and life to the_

 _world._

 _They granted power equally to all who dwelt in the light, and then returned to_

 _the heavens._

 _The lands where the goddesses descended came to be known as the Sacred Realm._

 _For ages, the people lived at ease, content in mind and body..._

 _The pair watched as the Goddesses created the world, both in awe._

 _But soon, word of the Sacred Realm spread through Hyrule, and a great battle_

 _ensued..._

 _Among those living in the light, interlopers who excelled at magic appeared._

Neither noticed the other's eye become pure white, nor the dagger that appeared in Kagome's hand. Kagome turned toward Link and moved as if to strike him down, but was surprised when he drew his own sword and drew it on her. Seeing her fall, Link turned toward the Sacred Power and ran toward it, once more in his battle clothing. At the base of the Power, two shadows Links were waiting for him.

 _Wielding powerful sorcery, they tried to establish dominion over the Sacred Realm._

 _It was then that the goddesses ordered us three light spirits to intervene._

 _We sealed away the great magic those individuals had mastered._

Link and his two shadows watched as the Goddesses combined their power against them. The vision ended with Link screaming in rage.

Being brought out of their trances, the pair found themselves once more before the spirit.

 _You know this magic..._

 _It is the dark power you seek...the Fused Shadow._

 _O hero chosen by the goddesses... Beware..._

 _Those who do not know the danger of wielding power will, before long, be ruled by it._

 _Never forget that..._

The sprit began to fade, but not before imparting one last piece of knowledge.

 _The dark power that you seek is sleeping within Lakebed Temple in Lake Hylia..._

All was silent as they processed what they had just heard.

Link looked toward his partner and became worried when he saw how pale and frightened she looked.

"Kagome?"

"That vision…"

She turned frightened eyes toward him.

"I was going to kill you, but…"

She felt her legs give out beneath her and would have fallen had Link not reached her and held her as he slowly brought them to sit on the ground.

Holding her close, he reassured her as best as he could.

"It wasn't real. I know you would never do anything like that to anyone and I would never draw my sword on you…unless of course you were possessed. Then we might have a few problems."

He felt her laugh against his neck.

"That's better. Now we need to figure out what to do next."

"Well, the spirit did mention a 'Lakebed Temple'."

Cue Midna!

"Whoa! That reminds me of something... Didn't the late queen in Zora's Domain ask you to do something? She asked us to find her son! The one who's been missing since he headed for Hyrule Castle... I think she said something about granting you some special power if you rescued him? If the final piece of the Fused Shadow is on the bottom of Lake Hylia...then it looks like we're going to need that ability!"

And exit Midna, stage right.

"Looks like we know where to start!"

Standing up, he offered Kagome his hand to help her up.

"Shall I escort My Lady to Telma's Bar?"

Smiling up at him, she allowed him to help her up.

"If kind Sir would be so gracious."

Arm in arm, the two left the cavern and made their way back to Castle Town.


	15. Saving the Prince

AN: Yay, I actually changed stuff in this chapter! Tell me what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

 _"Midna"_

* * *

"It wasn't that bad."

"You're right."

"I know."

"It was worse."

"How?!"

"In case it escaped your notice Link, but we were SHOT OUT OF A GIANT CANON!"

The male beside her started to pout.

"Well I thought it was fun."

He was rewarded with a dry look from his partner.

All too soon they found themselves back in front the drawbridge leading into Castle Town. Grabbing his wrist in her hand, Kagome began pulling 'The Hero of the Gods' behind her.

"Whoa! What's the hurry?"

"We have a little Zora Prince to save!"

Giving a chuckle, he pulled her back towards him and placed his hand at the small of her back, leading her through the crowd of the revived Castletown. As they walked the busy streets, a stall caught Link's eye.

"I'll meet you at the bar," he told Kagome distractedly. "I'll meet you there."

"Are you sure?"

"Yeah, there's something I want to take a look at real quick."

"Ok, I'll wait for you at the door then." Giving him a strange look, Kagome walked off.

Waiting until she was out of sight, Link approached the stall he saw earlier.

"Good day to you, young sir," said the friendly sales woman. "Is there anything here that tickles your fancy?"

Link points to an item behind the woman. "How much for that?"

The old woman smiles as she retrieves the item in question.

~* With Kagome *~

Leaving Link, Kagome made her way to the bar as Midna hid in her shadow.

"I've been wondering something, Midna."

" _And what would that be?"_

"How is it that you got caught up in all of this?"

" _I'm just a citizen who refuses to see that animal in charge of my people!"_

"Is that all?"

"… _How?"_

"Just little things I've noticed here and there," she said. "I won't push for details, but I hope you know you can talk to me if you need to."

" _And Link?"_

"I don't think he knows, or, if he does, he's just waiting for you to bring it up."

" _It's like what happened here,"_ said the imp. _"Zant shows up with his monsters and uses his magic to take over."_

"And cursed you as well?"

" _Tsk, that idiot thinks that I'm harmless in this form,"_ she scoffs. _"Just wait until I get my hands on the last Fused Shadow, then let him see how 'harmless' I am!"_

Kagome chuckles as she listens to Midna rant. Both become quiet as they reach the bar.

"I wonder how long Link will be."

" _He probably found a shiny new toy and is wasting time playing."_

"It's nice to know you hold me in such high regard."

Turning around, the two saw Link walking towards them with a smirk on his face.

"Where did you run off to," questioned Kagome.

"I'll tell you later, let's just go in for now."

Shaking her head, Kagome follows Link into the bar.

They felt a thick tension as they entered, and its source seemed to come from where the Zora Prince rested. It looked like the doctor was arguing with the two women watching over the child.

"That is a Zora child! That is beyond my expertise! Hmmmph!"

Link bent his head down and whispered to Kagome.

"I doubt that's the only thing beyond his 'expertise'.

Kagome pursed her lips to keep from laughing and gave him a light swat in the gut for his crude remark. They turned their attention back as the young woman, Ilia, tried to plead with the doctor.

"Doctor, wait! If something isn't done, this child will..."

The doctor just turns to leave and the red headed woman places her hand on the girls shoulder. Ilia looked up at the older woman who is looking at the door with a thoughtful expression.

"Well, this isn't good. A human doctor won't do, huh... That old coot reminded me, though... I've heard of a shaman in Kakariko Village, in the Eldin lands, who's tended Gorons and Zoras."

A sparkle of hope shines in Ilia's eyes.

"Is that true? Perhaps if we take him there..."

She is interrupted by the Hylian Guards standing off to the side.

"Inadvisable! Too dangerous! But we can't turn a blind eye to a pretty girl in need, either. Yes, we'd better escort you! Am I right, boys?!"

Link looks down at Kagome with an eyebrow raised.

"What are growling for?"

"How much do you want to bet that these idiots will run at the first sight of danger?"

Link begins to observe the group of soldiers.

"Hmm…I don't think I want to take that bet."

The red headed woman gives a smile at the soldiers and looks back at Ilia.

"Well, isn't that nice. To reach Kakariko, we've got to cross two plains that are each infested by dangerous beasts. But we'll be safe now!"

She looks back at the soldiers and gets mad when she sees all but a little fat one gone, but he ran too once he figures out his friends left him behind.

"Cowards! Don't EVER show your faces here again!"

She then notices Link and Kagome.

"Oh my! Looks like we've got one young swordsman and an archer left! And not only that, but it looks like these brave young people will escort us, so get ready to go, honey. Pronto!"

Ilia nods her head and moves to gather everything they'll need. The woman moves over to the warriors, noticing the male gazing at the Ilia longingly, and speaks to them lowly.

"You know that girl, don't you? It's a real shame... She can't even remember her own name right now. Bless her heart... She found this poor boy collapsed in the road, so she did all she could to save him. More courage in that girl than in all the soldiers of Hyrule, for sure! You lend your strength to her, you hear me?"

They got to work to ready the wagon that would take them to Kakariko.

Kagome turned to Link.

"I'll ride in the wagon with them, that way if we get overcome I can help out if they get too close."

"Yeah, that would probably be best."

Soon everyone was situated, Link on Epona and the rest on the wagon as they head off toward The Great Hylian Bridge. Stopping just before they reach the bridge, Link pulls Epona up so that Telma could speak with him.

"So you say the bridge to the west has been destroyed, huh? Then our only option is to cross the bridge to the east. You see what that means? You'll have to deal with that thing!"

Link looks down at the bridge and groans.

Kagome sticks her head out of the flap behind Telma.

"What's wrong?"

"See the figure on the bridge?"

"What about it?"

"That's King Bulblin."

"Who?"

"The thing that took Colin?"

Kagome peers down at the figure again.

"You sure?"

"Pretty sure."

His jerked forward when Kagome smacked the back of it.

"What was that for?!"

"Go down there and beat him already! You already did it once; you should be able to do it again."

"'Should be'?"

She shrugs at him as Telma watches it all in amusement.

"Well yeah, providing the first time wasn't a fluke."

He narrows his eyes at her before spurring Epona into a run.

Telma and Kagome make light conversation as the watch him joust the bulblin.

"Fluke?"

Kagome shrugs.

"The best way to get a man to do something is to hit his pride."

Telma laughs before studying the girl beside her.

"You care about him, don't you?"

She receives a sad smile in response.

"It's hard not to with as much as we've been through together."

"But you're not sure he feels the same way."

"I just try not to get my hopes up, is all."

Noticing that he finished and was on his way back, she stretches and moves to back into the wagon.

"It's not the first time I've been in this situation."

"Situation?"

"Being in love someone who already loves someone else."

Telma just stares at her.

Kagome smiles at her.

"Like I said, this isn't the first time, but I'm more prepared for it."

She then looks at Link as he rides back to them.

"So I guess it wasn't fluke after all, huh?"

He scowls and sticks his tongue out at her before turning to Telma.

"The bridge is clear, we should get going."

Telma nods and snaps the reigns to get the horses moving.

As they pass Link, Ilia speaks to him.

"Th-Thank you so much for this. Um, if you don't mind me asking, what's your name?"

He hears Kagome whisper within the wagon.

"...Link?! I will never in all my life forget your kindness, Link."

Telma's voice comes from the front.

"Little lady, I think you'd best save your thanks until we're safe in Kakariko... This swordsman and archer of ours have great eyes, honey. They're proud and wild...like a feral beast. We need a beast right now, to keep the true ones at bay. If we make it to Kakariko safely, we'll just thank him then, OK? You ready to roll, you two? You've got to protect these young ones on the way to Kakariko!"

Links face adopts a look of disbelief.

"What is it with you women and doubting me?!"

He hears Kagome laughing.

Sighing, he comments that they should get going.

Following the dusty road leading to Kakariko Village, they came across the occasional enemy, but nothing the two fighters couldn't handle. After a seemingly long journey, they finally made it. Renado was quick to tend to the Zora Prince. After treating him, he spoke to the group.

"...He has passed through the worst of it. As long as he rests, he should recover in due time. Do you know the fate of his mother? Her welfare consumes him. He has been mumbling deliriously about her almost constantly..."

He pauses as he sees Link and Kagome look away with pain in their eyes.

"...I can see the knowledge grieves you. It must be an awful memory."

Colin, who had been standing beside Link, speaks up.

"I'll stay with him until he's better! No matter how long it takes!"

Renado smile down on the Ordonian child.

"Is that so? Thank you, Colin."

Colin smiles before looking up at Link with a thoughtful gaze.

"Hey, Link, about Ilia... Is it true, what they say about her?"

Link lets out a breath and opens his mouth to speak, but the shaman takes over.

"Yes, she has lost her memory, Colin, and regaining it will be no simple task. But it will be all right, child. If we just give her some time, I am certain that Ilia will find her heart again. So, Colin, I'd like to ask you to stay in this village until then. It is our turn to show the courage that you have already displayed."

Renado takes his leave and begins back towards his house and Colin goes back into the inn.

Telma looks at the two before speaking.

"Nice to see there's still hope here. And it's always good to see happy results repay your efforts... Those skills of yours... Any chance you're of the mind to put them to use for Hyrule? What hope there is in our kingdom is frail and dying...but there's still a group trying to do what it can. And I'm a member of that group. Call me Telma. I may just stay here a bit longer. I'm still worried about Ilia, and... Well, never mind about the rest."

Two sets of eyebrows rise when she looks at the Kakariko Shaman.

"You two, I want to see you again at my bar, you hear me? The bar is actually a kind of safe house for my friends. There's a passageway that leads to the castle from in there, as well. If you ever need something, stop by, I'll be waiting for you, honey!"

She then jogs after Renado and begins walking with him.

"Someone has a crush."

Link winces.

"Yeah, that kind of creeps me out a bit."

He gets hit in the arm for that one. He turns to mock scold Kagome when his attention is caught on something else.

"Link? What is it?"

He says nothing, just turns her so she is facing what he sees.

It's Queen Rutela.

 _"This way…"_

She leads them through the town and to the graveyard, past a secret entrance. Once through the tunnel, they come across a deep pool of water, and on the other side is a tree, where the queen is waiting.

 _"I am deeply grateful to you for aiding my son in his time of need. You were right to bring him here. Kakariko Village is a sacred place for the Zora people. It is where we take our eternal rest. My husband in life, King Zora, also rests his spirit here. It is no coincidence my son found his salvation in this place...That which I have promised you is within this grave. During his lifetime, my husband created garments specifically for the chosen hero, garments that house the abilities of the Zora. Now, at last, I can join the king in slumber. And yet... My son... He still knows nothing of my death. If you see him again, please pass on this message... Tell him he must not grieve his mother's passing. Tell him she wanted him to be brave and live as the king of our people. And... Tell him his mother...loves him without end. Tell him..."_

With her last plea, Queen Rutela fades away for the final time.

"Well, it's a good thing you found all of your friends and picked up that nifty Zora armor... But aren't you forgetting something kind of important? That last Fused Shadow... Remember what Faron the light spirit said... He said you would need the Fused Shadows to defeat the dark overlord Zant and save the world... So even if you go back now with all of the people you saved... The whole tragedy would just repeat itself... So let's go get it! We need to go to the temple on the lake bed of Lake Hylia!"

Link and Kagome look at each other.

"There's only one."

Kagome smiles at him.

"I think it might be a bit big for me, so you'll have to wear it."

"You know that's not what I meant."

Kagome wraps her arms around him and lays her head on his chest.

"I'll be fine by myself. While you're in the water temple, I'll walk around town and listen for anything interesting."

"I suppose you're right. It'll be strange not going in with you though."

"It will, but it's necessary."

He tightens his hold gently in answer.

"We should probably spend the night here and rest before I head off to the temple and leave you alone in a shopping district with money."

Kagome laughs.

"That's a good idea. Why don't you try out your new armor, get used to it, and I'll go back to the house we were in last time and make us something to eat?"

"I think that would be a good idea."

With a plan for the time being, the two split apart before retiring for the night.


	16. Zelda's Sacrifice

AN: Sorry about the long wait, we're in the process of moving again and I finally found a free minute! I added a little something in here, so I hope you enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I still own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

 _Spirit_

 _Animal_

* * *

The sun rose, slowly lighting up the land. Creatures from all over were woken from their sleep, whether they wanted to or not. In the dusty village of Kakariko, the inhabitants woke to begin their work for the day. Within one of the only inhabitable houses left, two figures lay entwined, still in bed. Feeling the warmth of the sun on his face, Link groaned and pulled his bed partner closer so he could bury his face under her hair and resume his sleep.

At least, he would have, if she was still in the bed. Blinking his eyes open, he looked around the small house they shared trying to find her.

'Wonder where she went off to.'

His musings were cut short as he noticed a piece of paper on the table beside his side of the bed. Sitting up, he held the paper in front of him.

I went over to the Inn to help with the cooking.

Why don't you come and join us when you decide to wake up and grace us with your presence?

'Well, that answers that question.'

After dressing, Link made his way over to the Inn, where there seemed to be a lot of noise. Entering, he saw that the place was full of controlled chaos. Colin and Talo were chasing each other with small wooden swords, with Malo and Renado watching from one of the tables. Beth was helping Kagome and Thelma with the cooking. A pot of something was on the fire and it looked like they were smoking some meat. Currently Kagome was teaching Beth how to make bread, Thelma looked back occasionally with a smile on her face. Noticing that Ilia wasn't around, Link began to make his way over to the Women's Corner (which he would never repeat within their hearing range). He stopped momentarily to correct some of the boy's swordplay. Finally reaching the kitchen area, he hopped onto a bar stool and leaned on the bar, using one of his hands to prop up his head, he just watched Kagome guide Beth in the delicate art of bread making.

"She looks like she would make a good mother one day."

Link turned toward the voice and saw Thelma looking at the bakers.

"Yeah, she loves kids. Told me she plans to have a couple of her own at some point."

"That's every woman, dear."

She finally turned to look at him.

"Ilia is still upstairs with the Prince. She hasn't really left him since he was brought into the bar."

Link allowed a soft smile to adorn his face.

"That's just Ilia. Has to take care of everyone, doesn't matter if they want the help or not."

Thelma looked at him thoughtfully.

"Kagome seems to be the same way."

Link nodded his agreement. Before their conversation could continue, Kagome turned her attention over to him after telling Beth to go play.

"Well, look who finally decided to wake up and join the land of the living."

She laughed when Link stuck his tongue out at her. The laughter faded as Renado made his way over.

"Something about that Zora boy is giving me a feeling of...unease. I worry that something may have happened to the Zoras of Lake Hylia... But I must first find a way to recover Ilia's memory. She suffers, and I must help. If I discover anything, I will let you know immediately, so please allow me a little more time..."

Link and Kagome shared a look before Link turned his attention back to Renado.

"Kagome and I went up to Zora's Domain when the lake was drying out. The whole Domain was frozen solid. We managed to find a way to thaw it."

The two adults shared a concerned glance, but Link continued.

"As soon as we leave here, I'm going to go back to the lake and see if there are any clues as to what's going on."

"And Kagome?"

"I'll be going back to Castle Town to see if I can overhear something that might help."

She paused before continuing.

"I'll probably take Link's money and stop in a few stores. I saw a few weapon stores I wanted to check out."

"My money?"

"Well I don't have any."

He gave her a dry look as she smiled and held out her hand for his wallet. Grumbling under his breath, he placed his wallet full of rupees into her waiting hand. Thelma and Renado were chuckling at the exchange. Soon the call for breakfast was made and everybody had their fill before leaving to do their chores.

Thelma stood with Link and Kagome as the prepared Epona to travel.

"Have you listened to everything Renado has to say? I'm worried about Ilia too...but I'm more concern about the Zoras of Lake Hylia right now. Of course, I agree with Renado completely. This man is ASTUTE! You go on now, Link! See after the Zoras at the lake!"

Mounting Epona, they said their goodbyes before leaving the village and making their way back to Lake Hylia.

"When we get to the bridge, I'll get off and you take Epona with you to Castle Town."

"Where should we meet?"

"We'll meet back at Lanayru's Spring."

"Okay."

When they reached the bridge, Link and Kagome hop off Epona to rearrange their packs.

"Before you leave," he says as he reaches into his pack. "I got this for you yesterday."

Kagome smiles and takes the small package from him. "That little errand you had?"

Link just smiles and motions for her to open it.

The smile slides off Kagome's face as she looks at the gift in awe. Inside the package is a choker made of a green ribbon that held a small pendant that was the same triangle shape she had seen in Castletown.

"What…?"

Link gently picks it up and moves behind her.

"It's called the Triforce," he explains as he places it around her neck. "It represents a balance of Power, Courage and Wisdom."

"Link..."

"It's also something boys give to girls they like."

As he finished securing the ribbon around her neck, he gently turned her around so she faced him. He gave a soft smile when he saw the tears forming in her eyes.

"But, what about Ilia?"

Drawing her in close, he tucked her head under his chin.

"Ilia," he said in thought. "Is my best friend. I will admit, there was a time when I thought about the possibility, but I think that was more because we grew up together, and because all those nosey woman keep talking about it. She's honestly more like a nagging sister than anything else."

Kagome giggles at his thoughts.

"I don't know what's going to happen in the future," he said as he held her. "But I'm hoping that when the time comes, you'll come to Ordon with me."

"I think I'd like that," he replied softly.

Bringing up one of his hands, Link cupped Kagome's chin and tilted her head upwards as he lowered his own. A tender kiss was shared between the two.

What felt like all too soon to Kagome, Link pulled away.

"As much as I would love to stay with you," he said apologetically. "I have a temple to divest of monsters and you have my wallet to empty."

Kagome giggled as he helped her back onto Epona. Drawing her down for one more kiss, Link jumps off the bridge and into the lake below.

Kagome watches as he waves before submerging himself once more.

Giving the horse a nudge, they make their way to the western gate leading into Castletown. Dismounting, Kagome gives Epona an affectionate pat on her neck.

"Okay Epona, you'll have to wait here for me."

She received a neigh in response. Giving the mare a rub on the nose, Kagome made her way into the town. Entering the main square, she saw street musicians playing and children running around. She began walking around and looking at the shops to see if anything caught her attention.

Eventually something did. One of the doors had a large picture of Malo's face on it!

Curious, Kagome made her way into the shop. She nearly laughed when she entered. Cheerful music sounded throughout the room, and the store clerk was dancing to its beat. Looking around, Kagome found something that she thought Link would find useful. Making her way to the counter, she was taken aback by the clerk's cheerfulness.

"Welcome! Welcome! Grand opening sale going on now at Castle Town Malo Mart!"

"Hello, I was wondering about that armor over there."

"Ah! An excellent choice! When you wear this armor, any hits you take hit your wallet instead! The only drawback is that you need rupees in your wallet in order for it to be mobile. No rupees, you're like a statue."

"How much is it?"

"598 rupees miss."

"Hmm, let me see if I have that."

As luck would have it, she did! Kagome happily left the store with her new purchase and began making her way back to Epona. They returned to Lake Hylia, but saw no way for Epona to go down to the spring.

"Don't worry girl, I'll go down and bring him back up."

It took a while, but she eventually made it back to the entrance of Lanayru's cave. Walking in, she didn't see Link, so she sat on the edge of the outcropping and waited. She didn't wait long before a flash of light appeared behind her. She stood and faced Link with a smile on her face, which quickly began to fade. Link became confused as he saw Kagome's bright smile turn into a look of fear. Turning to look behind himself, he saw what shocked her. A tall figure stood before him, his face hidden by metal mask in the shape of a chameleon's head. Lanayru arose from the water as he sensed an intruder in his domain.

The figure seems unconcerned as he raises his hand and sends forth a burst of energy that knocks the two back and forces Lanayru to retreat back into the water, once more bathing the spring in twilight.

"Zant!"

Huh, looks like Midna it back and seems to know this guy.

Midna uses the fused shadows they had gathered and fitted the pieces back together to for some sort of armor. Zant does not seem impressed as he disassembles the armor. Using his power on Midna, he suspends her from the air.

Link and Kagome are unable to do anything to help as both were unconscious as the twilight reverted them into their wolf forms.

"Did you honestly mean to take an ancient and withered power like this and turn it against me? You are a foolish traitor, Midna. Why do you defy your king?"

"My KING? You, who do nothing but abuse the magic of your tribe? You must be joking!"

"How dare you?! Are you implying that my power is...our old magic? Now THAT is a joke! This power is granted to me by my god! It is the magic of the King of Twilight, and you WILL respect it!"

Link and Kagome regained consciousness in time to see Zant throw Midna into the ground. Moving as one, they got to their feet and lunged themselves at Zant. As they drew close, a ball of red magic appeared and hit them head on. The force of it threw the away and back into unconsciousness. Midna was on her knees before them, stroking their faces and watched as orange colored magic sunk into their foreheads.

Zant brought Mind back to his side.

"My Midna... Did you forget? That beast is one of the light dwellers who oppressed our people. No matter how much you may desire otherwise, you will never be more than a shadow in their world. You cannot consort with their kind! But if we can make their world ours, Midna...light and darkness will meet at last. Our tribe will take back their realm...and sweet darkness will blot out this harsh light! And that, Midna, is why...I need you. Not just for me, but for all of our people... Lend me your power."

Midna freed herself from Zant's grasp

"So be it... I will return you to the light world you covet!"

Suspending Midna above the pool of water, Zant summoned Lanayru from the water. The force of the spirit's light was harmful to those from the Twilight Realm. Midna was no exception to this fact. Lanayru unleashes the full force of his light at the Twili. And with a brilliant flash of light, Zant was left by himself.

Regaining consciousness, Link and Kagome find themselves dealing with a new set of problems.

 _ **We're wolves!**_

 **But how? We're not in twilight?**

 _ **I don't…MIDNA!**_

 **What is it?!**

 _ **She's solid! We're not in the twilight and she's in her normal form!**_

Lanayru's voice sounds within their minds.

 _Heroes chosen by the goddesses..._

 _Go to the princess locked away in the castle._

 _That princess holds the key that can unlock you from your shadow form..._

 **Looks like we're going back to the castle.**

 _ **We better hurry; I don't know how long Midna can last like this.**_

 **Alright, let's go.**

Running as fast they could, they made their way through the fields of Hyrule, dodging the bulblins and dekus that stood in their way. Upon crossing the drawbridge leading into the city, they paused to catch their breath.

 _ **How are we going to get into the castle?**_

 **I have no idea.**

 _You're trying to get into the castle?_

 **Who said that?!**

 _ **Oh, look at the cute little frog!**_

Link just stares at her.

 _ **What?**_

 **Nevermind.**

He turns his attention back to the frog.

 **Do you know how to get into the castle?**

 _No, not me personally. However, if you go to the bar at the south end of town you'll find someone who does know._

 _ **Thank you for your help.**_

 _No problem miss, you two have fun._

 _ **Well, he certainly was helpful.**_

 **Very, now let's go!**

Once more they set out. Before long they reached the bar and carefully squeezed through the door.

"Beasts! Get out!"

Apparently the patrons weren't fond of wolves.

 _You there!_

The pair looked up and saw a white cat sitting in the window.

 _You're Link and Kagome, correct? Mmm, yes, I thought so. I could just tell, you know. I'm Louise. Do you remember meeting me in this shop before? Though I don't think we were properly introduced... In any case, I must tell you, I'm a bit puzzled as to why you look like that. Really, dear, you can't blame the humans for tossing you out, the way you look._

She sees Midna draped over Link's back.

 _Oh... Another patient? You certainly are a curious sort..._

Midna weakly raises her head to the cat.

"...Plea... Please... Princes...Z-Zelda..."

Louise looks startled.

 _This way! Here, get in through the window. The attic is connected to the castle's waterway. It's an old waterway, though...so it could be a rough trip. Well... I suppose all that's left to do is make sure that the humans don't notice you. Do walk carefully when you move around the attic. Be careful when the footing's not stable or you'll fall, dear._

They followed Louise through the window, carefully making their way across the ropes and into the sewers of the city. Following the path set before them, they traveled until they reached a familiar set of large wooden doors. Entering the room, they looked around, but no sign of the Princess. Hearing a thump, they turned and saw Midna collapsed on the ground. Seemingly out of nowhere, Zelda appears and places a hand on Midna.

Looking weakly up at her, Midna makes her plea.

"Please... Please tell me... How do we break...the curse on them? They...are the ones... You need them...to save your world! That's why... Princess... Please... You must help them..."

Looking up at the wolves, Zelda hovers her hand across their bodies until her hand starts to glow.

"What binds them is a different magic than what transformed them when they first passed the curtain of twilight. It is an evil power. Our world is one of balance... Just as there is light to drive away darkness, so, too, is there benevolence to banish evil. Head for the sacred grove that lies deep within the lands guarded by the spirit Faron. There you will find the blade of evil's bane that was crafted by the wisdom of the ancient sages...the Master Sword. The Master Sword is a sacred blade that evil can never touch. Evil cloaks you like a dark veil...and that blade is the only thing that can cleave it. Link…Kagome... Heroes sent by the goddesses... Like you, I have been granted special powers by the goddesses..."

Midna's weak voice sounds throughout the room.

"Fine... Link... Kagome… You can... You can get to the woods...on your own, right? Princess... I have one last request... Can you tell him...where to find the Mirror of Twilight?"

Zelda gazes down at her.

"Midna... I believe I understand now just who and what you are... Despite your mortal injuries, you act in our stead... These dark times are the result of our deeds, yet it is you who have reaped the penalty. Accept this now, Midna. I pass it to you..."

Holding onto Midna's hands, Princess Zelda began to glow.

Midna looked worriedly up at her.

"No! STOP HER!"

But she was too late. Slowly, Princess Zelda faded out of existence as she gave her powers to the Twilight Imp.

Turning to the wolves, Midna looked at them with a determined look in her eye.

"We go back, Link! Back to Faron Woods! Zelda... I've taken all that you had to give...though I did not want it."

Leaping onto Link's back, she transported them to Faron Woods.


	17. The Master Sword

AN: Not much changed in this one, but I hope you still enjoy it!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

 _Spirit-type-thing_

* * *

The trio of travelers sped their way through the forest, intent on reaching their destination as soon as possible.

 _ **I wonder what's next.**_

 **What do you mean?**

 _ **Midna mentioned a 'Mirror of Twilight', I was just wonder what she was talking about.**_

Link pondered over this.

 **Whatever it is, it probably has some connection with what's been happening.**

 _ **Makes sense. So we keep going until we get to the root of the problem?**_

 **Sounds good to me.**

Their conversation was put on hold as they came upon the Forest Temple.

 **What's that?**

 _ **What's what?**_

 **Those creepy looking bug things over there, they look like they're surrounding something.**

 _ **It looks like that girl monkey.**_

Kagome ran ahead.

 _ **Well come on, let's go help it!**_

As always, it took little effort for our heroes to save the cowering little monkey.

 _Did... Did you save me? Th-Thank you! Listen, since you're so nice, let me tell you something: there's a really pretty wooden area on the other side of this cliff! I climbed over there, but when I tried to get deeper into the woods, THOSE guys attacked me! What's in those woods, anyway? That sure is a pretty forest... You know, the one I found over there, on the other side of the cliff. If you're going, please be careful! Your smell... It's so familiar... It smells a bit like a green-clad prince who helped me out once!_

With one last look over his shoulder, she scampered back to the temple.

"So there's another section of forest beyond this cliff. All right, Link, let's go!"

Link tuned his attention over to his companion, who was laying on the ground with her paws crossed over her muzzle, trying to hold in her laughter.

 **Not. One. Word.**

 _ **Of course, Prince Link!**_

She just stopped trying at the point and let the laughter out.

 **Ha ha, very funny. Can we get going yet?**

Kagome sobered up for the most part, but was still chuckling.

 _ **As the prince commands.**_

He chose to ignore her and began to follow Midna along the path leading to the unexplored area. It felt like no time had passed before they came upon anther clearing where a figure was playing a horn atop a stump.

 _ **I wonder who that is.**_

 **Only one way to find out.**

They slowly approached the figure, trying not to startle him. As if sensing their approach, the figure stood and faced them.

 **Ugly little thing, isn't he?**

 _ **Link, be nice!**_

Giving them a creepy smile, whatever it was, blew his horn and ran through the door that appeared.

 **What the hell?!**

 _ **Don't just stand there, let's follow him!**_

Their pursuit was a long one, but in the end, the creatures own music helped in his defeat. They followed his music into some ruins where he called upon his puppets to try and stop them. At his defeat, a new door appeared and allowed them into a new clearing.

At the far end of the clearing, they saw a pair of statues that looked to be guarding something. Approaching them, they saw a picture of the Triforce drawn on the ground. As soon as they stepped on it, the ground began to shake and shift beneath their paws. The ground now resembled an inverted pyramid made of floating blocks of earth. The two statues changed their position and their previous places looked to be marked on two of the blocks of earth.

 _We are guardians of this land..._

 _Guide us to where we once stood._

 _Only then can you enter the true Sacred Grove..._

 _Beasts who speaks to our hearts... what would you have of us?_

 _ **So all we have to do is put them back?**_

 **Looks like it.**

The two moved to the left, trying to judge how the statues moved.

 _ **It looks like they move in opposite directions.**_

 **So how do we do this?**

 _ **Just move as I tell you, and we should be ok.**_

 **Lead on.**

 _ **Ok, move to the block behind us. Now right. Right again. Alright, move ahead. Left, now ahead. One more time ahead. Ok, now left, behind, behind once more, head to the right and finally move ahead once more (for all those who haven't gotten here yet, you're welcome!).**_

 **That was fun.**

 _Go now to the sacred place, beasts..._

 _We yield passage to the Sacred Grove..._

The door behind the guardians opened to a slope of land. Walking up the natural ramp, the three found themselves before a sword embedded in a pedestal that bore the Triforce's image on its front.

The two wolves slowly moved as one toward the sword. Upon reaching it, a large flash of light filled the clearing. After the flash, two humans stood where wolves once were. Each had a hand resting on the sword before them. Kagome lifter her hand and stepped back so as to allow Link to pull it from its resting place. After placing it into his scabbard, Midna popped up.

"The sword accepted you as its master..."

Midna held in her hand the pieces of Zant's magic that had embedded itself into the two humans.

"This thing is the embodiment of the evil magic that Zant cast on you. It's definitely different from our tribe's shadow magic..."

She pulled it back as Kagome made a move to hold it.

"Careful... If you touch it, you'll turn back into a beast! This thing is too dangerous... It's probably for the best if we just leave it here, huh?"

A slow, devious smile appeared on her face.

"But on the other hand...if we kept it, you'd be able to transform into a beast anytime you wanted... Yes, since Zant was kind enough to give this to us, we should be thankful and use it all we can! If you need it, just call me. I want to keep a low profile, so I'll hide in your shadow when you're human, but I can change you whenever. You can be a wolf anytime you like! Also, thanks to this thing, you can warp whenever you want by switching into wolf form... Hey, but listen, Link, Kagome... I've got a little favor to ask... Would you mind coming with me to find something called the Mirror of Twilight? It's hidden somewhere in Hyrule... Yes, the Mirror of Twilight... Our last potential link to Zant!"

The two looked to each other before turning back to the imp.

Kagome spoke for the two of them.

"Of course we'll come with you. This world will never be safe if Zant is allowed to roam free."

The two females smiled at each other as Link looked on.

"Well ladies, if we're going to save the world, we better get a move on!"

Kagome raised an eyebrow at him.

"And where shall we start, oh great one?"

He smiled down at her as he placed his arm around her shoulders.

"Why, with the most knowledgeable person we know, Telma!"

"So back to the bar?"

"Back to the bar."

And with some twilight magic, they made their way back to Castle Town.

Opening the door to the bar, they were greeted by a friendly face.

"Oh my... If it isn't Link and Kagome! You made it! How've you been, honey?! Mercy, but you have good timing. I was just talking about you! Hey, everyone! Introduce yourselves! This handsome young man is the infamous Link and this pretty little thing is Kagome! You remember what I told you before, honey? These are those friends I mentioned, the ones who are trying to help deal with all the troubles in Hyrule. Actually, there's one more of us, but there's been a disturbing turn of events in the eastern desert, so he's gone to check it out. He's an older man named Auru. If you happen to meet him, definitely take the time to talk with him, OK, honey? Well, you've come all the way here, honey, so why don't you relax a bit. Why don't you be sociable and talk to these folks? They're a jolly bunch!"

Telma leaned on the counter and spoke in a low voice.

"How's that Ilia doing, honey? I'm sure that shaman will find a way to get her memory back. That Renado is a talented man, for sure! Anyway, honey, you've got your own things to worry about, so you just make sure you do what needs doing right now, OK? Listen, honey, if you're puzzled about what you ought to be doing, why not go see our friend Auru? There's a man who knows things! He's out checking the eastern desert of Hyrule. If you need detailed directions, just take a peek at that map on the table. That old codger Auru is at Lake Hylia, studying the desert."

Heading to the back room, they met Telma's friends.

They first met a well-dressed man.

"Oh, hello there! You must be Link and Kagome, correct? I'm Shad. Wonderful to meet you. Sorry about the ribbing I gave you the other day, old boy. This town is rather teeming with odd sorts, so I was just being careful. Telma told me all you've been up to. You're rather formidable! I'm rather NOT, I'm afraid. Well, I'm formidable at book reading, but I lack, shall we say, physical skills. That said, if the history and legends of Hyrule are your cup of tea, I'm your fellow! If you're curious, just ask away. At the moment I'm absolutely entranced by the sky beings known as the Oocca. Yes, according to legend, Hyrule was made by the Hylians, who, as we all know, are the closest race to the gods. But also according to legend, long ago there was a race even closer to the gods, and some say THESE creatures made the Hylians. When they created the people of Hylia, they simultaneously created a new capital, a city that floated in the heavens. They dwelt there...and some scholars believe that this race lives there still, somewhere in the great sky. Sky beings... Isn't that simply marvelous, old boy? What I wouldn't give to meet them!"

Next was stern looking young woman.

"...It's Ashei. Listen, sorry I was so nasty the other day. I thought you were like those sorry excuses for Hyrule soldiers...but I thought wrong. I grew up in the mountains with my father, who was a knight in his own right. He taught me the arts of war as though I was his son. Of course, lessons in common courtesy were not part of the regimen, so forgive me if I come off as rude, yeah? Listen, before I blab both of your ears off, I want to tell you something. Snowpeak, the mountain to the north of Hyrule... It's unlike any mountain I've ever known. I don't know much yet, but things happen there that happen on no other mountain I know of... Evil controls it... As soon as I know something more, I'll tell you. Until then, you should stay away, yeah? Don't go near Snowpeak for a while, yeah? I'm looking into it more now, but trust me, that's no ordinary mountain... As soon as I have more information, I'll let you know, yeah?"

Next was a man very familiar to Link.

"It has been a long time...Link! My wife, Uli, sent word to me. I have seen the children in Kakariko Village! And, of course, I have also heard of your adventures! I must thank you for your help with Colin, Link. I barely recognized him... In any case, I am troubled by my own inaction. I wanted to help the cause. These friends here... I have had a connection with them for a long while. Like the others, I am gathering information now. I will let you know if I hear anything."

Link smiled at his old teacher.

"Rusl, this is Kagome. She's been traveling with me. Kagome, this is Rusl. He's the one who taught be all I know about swordplay."

Kagome smiled and shook his hand.

"It's a pleasure to meet you sir."

"And you as well young lady."

After a few more pleasantries, the two set off for Lake Hylia to find Auru.


	18. Arbiter's Grounds

AN: Update 3 of 3! If you missed the other two, go back!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

 **Link**

 _ **Kagome**_

* * *

It took a while, but they finally found Auru. He was standing atop the tower at Lake Hylia.

"I thought it was about time for you to arrive... Master Link and Miss Kagome, is it? Please forgive my rudeness in the bar the other day. You do know Telma, don't you? I am Auru. I am part of the group that Telma kindly allows to meet at her bar. I have heard all about your deeds from her. Now... You being a courageous youth... You have likely heard of the strange events in the desert and come to investigate, no? Or am I mistaken? You do know, don't you? The Gerudo Desert once held a prison built to hold the worst criminals this land has ever known... The criminals who were sentenced to death were sent directly to the underworld by a cursed mirror that was kept in the prison... Now that prison is condemned, and even the road leading to the desert is impassable. This desert at world's end... It still holds the cursed mirror and the malice of the doomed inmates... These old bones know that the evil currently plaguing Hyrule is related to this wicked place. So I have come to learn the truth... I must ask... What will you do now? Don't tell me you plan to enter the desert and confirm my suspicions with your own eyes?!"

"Seems to be the most logical solution," Kagome shrugged.

"Ah, is that so... Then let good old Auru help you out... You see Lake Hylia below us? A man named Fyer runs an amusement ride of sorts there. Give him this. See, long ago, I saved this man Fyer's life, and now he cannot refuse me if I ask a favor. If you leave the rest up to Fyer, all should go well. Just give my note to Fyer, the man who runs the amusement ride in Lake Hylia. If you leave the rest to Fyer, all should go well."

Link snickers at Kagome's paling complexion.

"It won't be so bad."

Kagome glares at him.

"If I get sick, I'm aiming for you."

Before long, they made it back to the cannon happy man and give him the note.

"Hrrrm... From old Auru, huh... Ah well, I guess I oughta do what the old coot says...Oasis flight...right? So here you go, one of our secret options not available to the general public... This time's all paid for...so whaddaya say? You wanna go?"

"Yes, sir."

"Heh heh... All right, buddy of mine! Let's get you zooming! Yeah, this time is free just 'cause I don't need to be getting an earful from the old fella later on. So then... Two for the oasis flight! Heh heh... Hurry up and hop on in..."

Kagome nervously backs up.

"I think I'll wait here."

Link looks back at her with a raised eyebrow, which made her nervous.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

Link walks over to her with a playful smile on his face.

"You get away from me," she threatened. "I mean it!"

Link ignores her and runs at her before she has chance to bolt and throws her over his shoulder. Ignoring her threats, he turns his attention back to an amused Fyer.

"Oasis Flight, huh? Sounds fun!"

"If you think for one second that I am getting in there, you need to have your head checked! Are you listening to me Link?"

Fyer chuckled as he shut the door.

Humming to himself, he cranked the cannon and prepared it to fire. With a giant boom, the two Hylians soared through the sky.

"I hate you."

"I know."

"I mean it this time."

"I'm sure you do."

"See if you get any back rubs from me again."

"That's kind of harsh."

"I don't think so."

"At least I'll get to kiss you," he said optimistically.

"I wouldn't count on that if I were you."

Before their banter could continue, Midna appeared before them. She didn't seem like her usual self though. She seemed almost subdued.

"Wait, Link…Kagome. Before we go on, there's something I want you to hear... Do you remember what the spirit said about the Fused Shadows? What do you think happened to the magic wielders who tried to rule the Sacred Realm? They were banished. They were chased across the sacred lands of Hyrule and driven into another realm by the goddesses. It was another world entirely... The antithesis of Hyrule, where the sun shines bright. Its denizens became shadows that could not mingle with the light. Eventually, most came to call it the Twilight Realm, and from it, none could return to the world of light... They were forever doomed to live in the twilight, flitting in the half-light of dusk, mere shadows of Hyrule... This is the history of the Twili as it has been passed down from our ancestors... Do you now understand what I am? I'm a descendant of the tribe that was banished to the Twilight Realm! It was a peaceful place...until Zant took control of the Twilight Realm and transformed all of the Twili into shadow beasts. It's clear to me now that he somehow gained a great evil power previously unknown to our tribe... In any case, I was sent from there, and could no longer get into the Twilight Realm without his power... But there's another tale told by my people. Though the goddesses forbade us to return to the world of light, they left one link between the light and the darkness. Something called the Mirror of Twilight was passed to the protectors of Hyrule... It's our only path to the Twilight Realm...and we must get there! You'll come with me...won't you?"

Midna was shocked when Kagome drew her into a hug.

"We've all come this far together, we'll continue to the end."

Link just smiled his acceptance.

The trio began to walk around before finding a tall island amongst the sea of sand. Reaching into his pack, Link brought out his hook shot.

"Where did you find that?"

"The water temple."

Without warning, he wrapped his arm around Kagome's waist and drew her close before shooting the hook shot and bringing them both to the top.

His noble efforts were rewarded with a smack to his arm.

"Warn a girl next time."

He just laughed at her. Rolling her eyes, she turned her head and blinked in surprise.

Midna popped up when she saw it.

"What is this thing? It does seem to be man-made. I wonder what it is. Why is it there? It doesn't look like it's been there long, does it?"

Link walked up to it, still rubbing his arm.

"I think it's the piece of Eldin Bridge that was taken."

Kagome nods her head.

"We should probably take it back."

"Probably, are you up for it Midna?"

"Yeah, who's going this time?"

Kagome looks at Link.

"I think it's my turn, we'll be right back."

In a flurry of magic, Kagome was once again a wolf and they disappeared with the piece of bridge. Link took the time that they were gone to observe the desert and saw the abandoned prison that Auru had mentioned. Only, it didn't seem so abandoned at the time. Kagome and Midna came back and came to stand with him as he watched the bulblins across the desert.

"So what do you think?"

Kagome thought a bit.

"We should wait until its dark; it'll give us some cover against their scouts. Besides, once we get close enough, I can pick them off with my bow."

"How close is close?"

"See that pit halfway through the desert?"

"Yeah."

"Just beyond that."

"Impressive."

"It is, isn't?"

Following Kagome's plan, they waited until dark to move through the desert. Using the bow, Kagome made quick work of the bulblins guarding the outpost. They were halted in their journey when they came upon the boarded up entrance. Link walked up to it tried to wiggle the boards.

"These are on there pretty good. It would take too long if I tried to use the sword on them."

"So what do we do?"

Letting out a breath of air, Link brought his hand up to the back of his head and looked around for a clue. His head did a double take as he caught sight of something and a mischievous smile slowly spread across his face.

This caused Kagome to raise an eyebrow.

"What do you have planned?"

Without losing the smile on his face he walked past her and out of sight. The girls looked at each other and shrugged. A loud pig's squeal caused both to give a little jump and look wide-eyed in the direction Link took.

"What in the world?!"

The question was answered as a still smiling Link came around the corner riding one of the large boars. Without stopping, he grabbed onto Kagome as he passed by and brought her up with him.

"Are you crazy?!"

"Hey! We needed to get through and this was the quickest way."

Kagome just buried her head into his back and held on tight; prying to whoever was listening that this ride would end soon. Preferably with them alive. Her wish was granted as they burst into stable and the pig dropped in exhaustion. Laughing at how tightly she held onto him, Link hopped off the pig and turned to help her. Kagome was about to start yelling at him when she noticed that he stopped laughing and was staring behind her.

"What are you staring at?"

She soon got her answer. Standing in the shadows was King Bulblin, and in his hands a giant axe. Quickly drawing her bow, she moved to set it when Link stopped her.

"With a weapon that big, it'll have to be close combat. He'll easily bat away your arrows."

Understanding what he was saying, she lowered her bow and stepped back as he drew his sword and shied and moved to attack. The fight was evenly matched, each getting in a few shots on the other. But Link finally got the finishing blow. Knowing when he was defeated, King Bulblin limped out of the stable. Shortly after his departure, the entrance to the stable was blocked and the building was set on fire. Link ran to Kagome and pulled her out of the way as one of the beams fell right where she was standing. Clutching him in shock, she looked at where the beam fell, before looking around.

"What are we going to do?"

He held her closer as he too looked around. She looked up as he gave a relieved laugh.

"The boars awake, let's go!"

Pulling her behind him, he jumped onto the animal and brought her in front of him. With a kick, the boar was sent running and they crashed through the doors and various barriers until they reached the door leading into the prison. Helping her of the boar, he gave it a swat to its hide to send it off. Drawing her close to his chest, he slid down the wall, just holding onto her as they caught their breath. He looked down at her as she let out a breathless laugh.

"What?"

"I just remembered, Midna could have teleported us out."

It took Link a moment to think about what she said. Letting out a bark of laughter, he briefly tightened his hold on her.

"You ready to go in yet?"

"As ready as I'll ever be."

Standing up, they walked hand in hand into the darkness that led into the Arbiter's Grounds.

As dark as it was entering the Grounds, they were able to see a small patch of light just ahead. Carefully walking along dimly lit path, they soon entered a large room. On the far side was the door leading to the next room. But between them and the door was a giant sand pit. Following the spaced stone ruins, they made it across. Walking through, they found themselves in a large hall. In front of them was a set of grand stairs that led to a large door. On each side of the stairs were two lanterns, four in all. On each side of the hall was a door. Making their way towards the large door, they were stopped as the four lanterns moved. Three spread out the other doors, and the fourth remained in the hall.

The two Hylians looked at each other.

"Wolf?"

"Wolf."

Having Midna change them into their animal forms, they honed their senses and saw what was hold the floating lanterns.

A transparent figure floated before them. On his 'body' it wore a light colored robe. Over its head, a dark hood clasped together with a small skull. Its face was barely visible beneath its hood, but what they could see was a decomposed skull with a mouth full of sharp teeth.

 _ **Talk about ugly!**_

 **It's called a Poe.**

 _ **Don't care, it's still ugly.**_

 **I'll get it.**

It took Link a few tries before he figured that he could only hit the thing while it looked solid, otherwise he went right through it.

Picking up the scent coming from the lantern, they easily found the remaining three Poes.

The prison was full of traps and secret passages, but they were able to continue on. Entering a dark room, they heard the door slam shut behind them and continued forward. In the middle of a large circular room, a sword was imbedded in the floor. As if the sight of a large, black sword wasn't a bad omen already, there were ropes attached to the handle. On each rope were many pieces of paper.

"What's these for?"

Kagome walked up behind him and studied them.

"They're paper wards."

"Wards?"

"There are two types, the ones that contain and the ones that deflect. These are the kind that contain. This sword is a prison."

"I don't think we're getting out of here until we set whatever is in there free."

"I'm thinking the same thing."

"So, shall I get to cutting?"

"By all means, cut away."

As soon as the last rope was cut, writing the color of blood began to appear in glowing letters. They weren't too shocked when they saw the sword move on its own.

"Wolf?"

"Wolf."

Once more as wolves, they were able to see the swords owner.

Before them was a large figure dressed in black robes. The visible feature, besides his hands, was his head. It had the skull of a bull and the horns of a ram. Much like the Poes, they had to wait for the phantom to become solid before attacking. Before long, it too, was defeated. With its defeat, the doors to the chamber opened, and our heroes continued on. Upon exiting the chamber, they were faced with a large chest.

"I wonder what little goody we're going to get this time."

Link shook his head with a smile and opened the chest. In his hands, he held the spinner.

Kagome looked at it.

"What does it do?"

"You see those indentions on the wall."

"Yeah."

"You see how this looks like a gear?"

"Uh-huh."

"When you step on it, it moves along a track on the wall like two gears moving together."

She looked at it again.

"Can we both fit on it?"

Link studied it.

"I don't think so."

The two sat in silence as they tried to figure out what to do.

Finally, Kagome had an idea.

"Those gates always show up in convenient places, right?"

"Right."

"So if the mirror is here, then a gate should show up when you get there. When it does, have Midna come and get me and we'll just teleport to wherever you are."

Link though about it for a bit.

"That seems to be the only option available to us."

Kagome smiled.

"You have fun with all the little beasties and I'll just sit right here."

Link laughed at her, and gave her a kiss on the cheek.

"Alright, see you soon."

Hopping onto his new toy, Link made his way away from Kagome and onto the Mirror Chamber.

~* Time Skip *~

Kagome had been sitting there for about an hour when Midna showed up right in front of her.

"He made it up, let's go."

The two dematerialized and went back to Link.

When they arrived, Link was sitting on some stairs that led up to a frame that held a single piece of glass.

"Is that…?"

Link looked up.

"The Mirror of Twilight? Yes it is."

"What happened?"

Link took the time to tell her what the sages told him.

"So now what?"

"Now we find the other pieces."

"Sounds fun."

"Yep."

"Any clues?"

"They said something about a mountain, an ancient grove and the heavens."

Kagome frowned in thought.

"That sounds familiar."

"It does?"

"Yeah, remember in Telma's bar? Ashei was talking about something happening to the mountain?"

"She did, didn't she?"

"We seem to be spending a lot of time at the bar."

Link laughed as they were transported, once more, to Castle Town.


	19. Snowpeak

AN: Sorry for the long wait everyone, real life decided to be a bitch for a while. Anywho, here's the next chapter. I'm going to try to update at least 1 chapter every day. Hope you like the new chapter!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

* * *

"Darling," called the blonde swordsman upon opening the door. "We're home!"

Telma smiled at the pair as they entered.

"How's it going honey?"

Kagome smiled at her while Link went on to the back room.

"We're one step closer that we were last time we met."

"That's good. Where are you off to now?"

"Snowpeak," she answered. "We just need to know how to get there."

"Well you just take a look at that map, honey. Ashei mentioned Snowpeak Mountain and headed off...perhaps you'll see her."

"Thanks Telma."

"Anytime honey."

Link had just finished talking to Auru when she got there.

"So where are we going?"

Link looked down at her.

"Looks like the entrance is in Zora's Domain."

"Okay, sounds like fun."

Auru chuckled.

"You kids go on and have fun; we old people will do the boring work."

Everyone let out a laugh as Link and Kagome left the bar.

Making sure the coast is clear, they called Midna and had her transport them to the entrance to Zora's Domain.

"This place certainly does look different in the daylight."

Link snorted beside her.

"Everything looks different in the daylight."

Walking through the tunnel, they came out at the base of Zora's Domain.

Kagome looked around her in awe.

The previous times she had been here, she had been too focused on what was going on to take the time and look at what was around her.

She pouted as Link began to direct her to Snowpeak's entrance.

"We'll come back after this is over."

"Promise?"

Link nodded his head and was rewarded with a smile and a kiss. Passing by the guards, they made their way through yet another cave and came out in a winter storm. Just ahead they could make out a figure and walked towards it, thinking it was Ashei.

Turns out they were right.

"Link, Kagome. What brings you to a dangerous place like this?"

It was Link who answered.

"When we were in the desert, we found a clue that there is something on the mountain that is connected with everything that has been happening."

"Ever since Zora's Domain got covered in ice, this mountain's been much colder than usual, yeah? Not only that, but I heard a really weird story from the Zoras. Apparently, the beast that lives somewhere on this mountain has been seen frequently in Zora's Domain. I was curious, so I came and waited...and as they'd said, a giant appeared! Yeah, it looked like this... Apparently, this thing's been stealing red fish from the village. I want to investigate further...but I can't even see the path through this blizzard, yeah? I'm sure you're here because you're curious about the mountain, but best not go without a plan. If you go into this blizzard without a plan, you'll get lost...and that'll only lead to disaster, trust me. The only clues we have right now are the stories of the Zoras and my sketch. It's not much, I know."

Thanking Ashei for her help, the pair made their way back the way they came.

Link looked at the woman beside him.

"Any ideas?"

"Ask the Zora and hope they have some information that could help."

It didn't take long for them to get results.

"Hey, the beast of Snowpeak... Oh! The red fish it's holding! That's a reekfish! Ah... So the beast has been showing itself because it's been catching reekfish... We didn't think that anyone besides Prince Ralis was capable of catching this type of fish! Not only is that type of fish tenacious, but it won't even bat an eye at ordinary bait. In fact, this is the first time we'd seen anyone other than Prince Ralis catch one. We were stunned!"

They thanked him and went on their way.

"So we need Prince Ralis' help?"

Link sighed.

"Looks like it."

Kagome looked down in thought.

"I wonder if he's woken up yet."

"Only one way to find out."

Once more they teleported.

Speaking with the kids in Kakariko, the learned that Prince Ralis had been spending his time in the cemetery. Looking up at Link, Kagome voiced her thoughts.

"He's probably at the tree."

"You're probably right," he agreed. "Listen, why don't you go over to the store and pick up any supplies we need and I'll go talk to the Prince."

"Male bonding moment?"

"Something like that."

She gave him a smile.

"That's fine; I have been wanting to talk to Malo anyway."

Link gave her a confused look.

"Why?"

"To congratulate him on his successful takeover of his competitor."

"When was this?"

"Not too long ago I imagine."

Her eyes widened as she thought of something.

"I almost forgot! I bought you something that I think you will really like."

"What?"

"Tell you later, go find Prince Ralis."

With that, the two parted. By the time they met up again, it was getting dark. So they decided to stay and leave first thing in the morning. In the comfort of their little house, Kagome brought out the bag that held their supplies and began looking for Link's present. With a triumphant cry, she held up a wrapped parcel and gave it to him. Opening it up, he found crimson and gold armor. Kagome spent the next few minutes explaining to him what was so special about the armor. They soon went to bed, ready for where the new day will take them.

~* The Next Day *~

 _ **I am so glad to be a wolf right now.**_

 **Why is that?**

 _ **Because if I were human right now, I'd be freezing.**_

Having left as the sun came up, Link and Kagome returned to Zora's Domain and caught a reekfish. They were currently using its scent to track the snow beast.

Turns out, the snow beast was at the very top of the mountain. It was fairly easy to take care of the Twilit Messengers that got in the way. Turning back into humans, they approached the beast.

"Uh! Whoa-ho! I heard ruckus, and uh! Just a human! I see humans not often, uh? Why human come to snows? You...on spiritual journey? You look for true self?"

Link answers him.

"No. We're actually looking for a piece of a magical mirror, and we were told it's somewhere on the mountain."

"...Uh. You look for mirror in such faraway place... But you make good climb! And you lucky to meet me! I found shiny mirror piece! Same mirror you look for, uh? Uh! You come to house and see yourself! I caught fish. I make hot meal, at least... My house far away... We slide there, uh? Do like me! Come!"

Hitting the tree next to him, a giant frozen leaf lands on the ground. Hopping on, the beast uses it like a snowboard, and slides away.

Kagome turns to Link with a smile.

"This looks like fun! C'mon, let's go!"

Shaking his head at her enthusiasm, he uses his shield to hit the tree hard enough to drop two more leaves. The two went down the mountain, laughing the whole way. Eventually, they came to a stop in front of the ruins of an old mansion.

"...Here? What's with this guy? He's got a nice place...for a beast-man."

Kagome tilts her head, before nodding her agreement.

"If he ever decides to move, I would so take it."

Link looks over at her. "And do what with it?"

"Fix it up and turn it into a vacation home."

Shaking his head, Link directs her towards the door.

Making their way into the mansion, they come across a smaller female sitting in front of a fire.

"...Who? Uh... Sorry... I have sickness, uh... Come closer, uh? Uh, wait... I tell you something. You cute little humans. Husband told me you come. You want to look at mirror, uh? My husband found it, but it pretty thing, uh. But...since I get mirror, I get sick, and then bad monsters appear... So many bad things happen since mirror... So we lock bedroom on third floor where it hangs, uh? Wait... I tell you where key is... Fever makes head blurry, but... It probably here in the room marked by this symbol... But right now...can't even get up. Would you bring it to me, uh? Start with door right here... I would go, uh, but so sick... Sorry to be bother, uh..."

Taking a look at the map, they thank her before walking through the door. They find themselves in the kitchen, where the man-beast is throwing in the reekfish he caught.

"Uh! You! Wife...look bad, uh? Not healthy since mirror... So I make soup for her. Fish from Zora village are most nutritious! You tired, uh? You have some. It gives you energy! What flavor for soup, uh... Can't decide..."

Finding their way to the room with the chest was relatively simple, if you don't count the monsters hanging around.

Kagome looks on as Link opens the chest.

"Well, that was easy."

"In a way."

Kagome looks at him quizzically.

"What do you mean?"

With a smirk on his face, Link gestures to the chest.

Curious, she looked in and saw…

"What in the world is a pumpkin doing all the way out here?"

Midna appeared with a look of disbelief on her face.

"What's this? This isn't right! She got the wrong locations. Want to go back and try to get her to remember where the key is?"

Link shrugged.

"Might as well."

Kagome looked thoughtful.

"Yeto said his soup was missing something."

"And?"

"If we take this to him, he can add it to the soup to help his wife."

Taking the pumpkin, they made their way back to the kitchen.

"What flavor... Uh... PUMPKIN! You have pumpkin, uh? Pumpkin, pumpkin, uh!"

In his excitement to obtain the new ingredient, Yeto knocked Link onto the ground.

Laughing silently, Kagome helped him back onto his feet.

"Thanks, uh! You taste if you want! Uh... Needs...more punch, uh! Needs...something."

The two moved back to parlor to talk to Yeta.

"You find it, uh? ...What? Pumpkin? But why there? No good, uh... Where I leave it? Uh! Maybe in THAT room. Go to room marked by symbol... Check room I marked on map, uh. Sorry about delay... I want to help, uh..."

After reassuring her that any help is appreciated, they left to find the room. After fighting a few more monsters, they walked into a hall that would lead them into the room that held the chest. In the middle of the hall, on each side, stood a coat of armor. As they reached the door, it barred and locked itself. Link looked behind to see if the other door locked itself also.

"Look out!"

Grabbing onto Kagome, he threw them both to the ground and covered her body with his own as broken pieces of armor rained down on them.

"What was that?!"

"A problem."

Rolling off of her, he drew his hook shot and used it to get behind the creature that was attacking. Link got a few shots in before it turned to attack. Seeing an opportunity, Kagome fired some arrows at its unprotected back. Using this strategy, the quickly made work of the monster, and Link got a new toy.

Link looked like a kid in a candy store.

"With this, I can easily bust through those walls of ice."

Shaking her head at Link's enthusiasm, Kagome opened the door to the room.

Opening the chest, Midna took a peek inside.

"Aw, food AGAIN?! Yeah, I had a bad feeling about this. She didn't seem very sure of herself... Oh well... Let's head back and hope she had some other brilliant idea."

Link looked over at Kagome.

"We're taking the cheese, aren't we?"

Kagome just smiled at him.

"At least I got something useful out of this," Link sighs.

On their way back to the kitchen, they stopped to speak once more to Yeta.

"What happened, uh? ...What?! Cheese... Uh... Did husband move it? Uh... Where in world did we put it...Sorry, I need thinking time, uh. Take cheese to husband, uh? You do that, I try to remember... Uh, sorry... Still no remember where bedroom key is. You take cheese to husband first. You do that, I try to remember..."

Returning to the kitchen, Link met the same fate as before.

"Mmm! Perfect ingredient, uh! Little more time on fire, it become gourmet soup, uh! Here! Taste, uh! Mmm! Smells good, uh! Wife feel better when she drink this."

They returned to Yeta.

"I think I remember, uh! We put key in nearby room, so no forgetting, uh. How I forget? Embarrassing, uh. See! Here. Place marked by symbol, uh! It there. It must be, uh! You look for me! I promise it right this time! Please, you look for me..."

Walking out the door, they began the search once more. It took a bit longer that before, but they eventually found the key. On the way back to the parlor, they were surprised to see Yeta outside.

"Oh! You safe, uh! I drink husband's soup, feel much better, uh. So I come to find you. You found key, uh! Good! Good! Bedroom right above us. I take you there, uh."

They followed Yeta to a winding staircase.

"Bedroom right there, you go ahead. No worry for me, uh?"

It took a while, but Yeta finally made it to the door.

"Thank you. You come inside... Please... This way, uh. Here...mirror. You look at it, uh... Uh... So pretty... Pretty... Uh... So pretty... Pretty... Pretty...mirror... Lovely..."

Link and Kagome took a step back in alarm when Yeta's face takes a monstrous form.

"NOT TAKE MIRROR!"

Using his new ball and chain, Link destroyed all the ice creatures the possessed Yeta sent their way. With one final swing, the spell on Yeta was broken. Yeta fell to the ground in exhaustion, and the mirror shard that had possessed her fell right into Kagome's hands. At that point, Yeto comes into the room and sees his wife on the floor. Paying no attention to the two, he runs over and cradles her to his chest.

Midna appears.

"Well, we have two mirror shards now... Two more left, Link. Still... I feel bad about the way we treated that girl. To think the Mirror of Twilight has the power to change people like that... This world...ALL worlds...can be cruel... Let's hurry and collect the rest of those pieces, Link! We have to, before more innocent creatures have to endure the suffering this poor girl did... Well, let's go search for the two that remain."

They all turned to watch Yeto comfort his wife.

"I'll get you out of here. You're sure there's nothing else you need to do, right?"

Shaking their heads, they left the happy couple.


	20. The Temple of Time

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

* * *

"So, now where do we go?"

"You said that the sages' clues sounded familiar, I think the next one was 'an ancient grove'."

Kagome furrowed her brow and thought about what it could mean. Something shining caught her attention.

'It's just the Master Sword,' she dismissed. Her eyes widened as her thoughts came to a halt.

"Link," she cried excitedly. "I think I know where we need to go!"

"Where?"

"I think the clue was talking about that grove where we found the Master Sword!"

Link gave her a wide smile.

"Back to Faron we go!"

Arriving in front of the Forest Temple, they ran into Rusl.

"It has been a while since we took a walk in the forest, huh? Yes, and how our world has changed..."

"Not by much."

Rusl smiled.

"Say... Do you know about the far side of this deep gorge? Some say there is an ancient temple deep in the woods that guards a sacred power. The ancestors of the Hylians created the temple... Signs of their civilization-ancient, but very sophisticated-are everywhere. If someone could obtain the power of those ancient people... Well, I am sure it would go a long way toward saving Hyrule. Link... Would you take on this task? Would you cross the gorge and find the ancient power sleeping in the temple?"

Link raised a mocking eyebrow.

"You have to ask?"

Rusl lets out a bark of laughter.

"I knew you would! To cross the gorge, just use my partner here...Do you doubt my partner's skills? He flies like a dream! Believe me! Well, you will definitely make it across the gorge. Wait and see, my doubting friend. Restore the peace! Reclaim the power of this ancient civilization that has slept in the temple for ages beyond count! My partner will definitely get the job done! No doubt in my mind! Give it a shot!"

Link looks skeptically at the bird.

"Alright Kagome, let's grab on to the magical flying cuckoo."

Link was rewarded with a slap on the arm.

"Will you quit hitting me woman?!"

She gave him a dry look.

"I will stop when you stop being such a sarcastic ass."

"Asking for miracles, are we?"

Rusl was doubled over laughing as the two flew away.

(And because I don't feel like going through the whole Skull Kid thing again, bippity-boppity-boo, they kicked his creepy little ass.)

Going through the new door, Link and Kagome found themselves back amongst the ruins that held the Master Sword. Looking around, they tried to find some clue as to the location of the Temple. Noticing a set of closed doors on a ledge, Kagome turned her attention to Link.

"How crazy and weird has this whole adventure been for you?"

"Pretty so, why?"

"Would you think it outside the realm of possibilities that if we walk through those doors up there, we'll find what we're looking for?"

"At this point, I'm willing to believe, and try, anything."

Climbing up the ledge, they stood before the closed stone doors. Each placing their hand on a door, they opened them and stepped back into the Temple of Time. The sight that welcomed them was a large antechamber. Stepping down the stairs, they observed the ancients building. In the middle of the floor was the symbol of the Triforce, bold and true. The guards stood new and proud before the door that would lead them to where the Master sword once rested. Entering the next area, they found themselves in a circular room. The stone walls stood high, supporting the stained glass windows that painted the room in various colors. In the middle of the room, was the pedestal which housed the Master Sword for so long. Looking around, Kagome voiced the question on everyone's mind.

"How do we get in?"

Link was staring at the pedestal. Walking towards it, he drew the sword.

"I have a hunch."

Stabbing the sword back into its resting place, a set of stairs appeared before them in glowing blue. The steps rose up to rest at the edge of one of the windows. Hearing Kagome squeak in surprise, Link turned to see a small bird looking thing run by. They watched as it ran up the stairs and through the window.

"What in the…?"

"I have no idea."

"Well, grab your sword and let's go."

"Pushy pushy."

Placing the sword back in his scabbard, he held out his elbow.

"Shall we?"

Kagome chuckled at his silliness, but still took his arm.

"We shall."

Arm in arm they walked up the stairs and were mildly surprise when it turned out to be an illusion which hid the door to the entrance. The next room was just as large and grand as the ones before it. In the center of the room was a giant bell. On the wall opposite of them was another door, but something was strange with it. Walking closer, they saw only one statue, but there was an empty stand matching the other. Midna appeared to take a closer look.

"Link... Don't you think there's something odd about that statue? In the grove and in the temple entry, there were always matching ones on each side, but there's only one here... Why don't you use your senses to take a look around?"

Following Midna's advice, they honed their senses.

"I knew it... There was one more here originally. We need to find the other statue in this temple that matches that one."

"Erm! Not so fast!"

They all turned to see Ooccoo standing there.

"Goodness! Wait a second! Young man, could you be...the one they call the hero? Goodness. I thought so! Just as I suspected! I have to tell you, my son and I have been looking for something. We can't return home until we find that thing. Oh, gracious no! You must need something here, too. Shall we try working together for a while, fellow adventurer? You may not think I look like much, but I can be quite helpful! I can even warp you out of here if you want to leave! So don't think of me as a burden! Now let's get started!"

And so, Ooccoo hopped into Kagome's pack and they all set off.

~* Time Skip *~

Link sat on a step in front of Kagome with his shirts off as she tried to rub the soreness from his shoulder.

"And what did we learn from this?"

Link groaned and dropped his head.

"Don't let giant armored things with big weapons hit you."

Kagome silently laughed.

Link sighed and looked at the rod lying beside him.

"At least we got this thing."

"True, being able to animate statues seems like it would be very helpful."

Sitting back, she patted Link on the shoulder.

"You should be ok for now, let's get that statue back so we can get that shard."

Link grunted, but stood and pulled his shirt back on. Activating the rod, he animated the rod and they began to trek the maze to return it to its rightful place. After returning the statue, the doors opened up and they entered the darkened corridor. Stepping cautiously, Kagome drew her bow and shot the beamos that had just opened its eye. The entire corridor was full of traps. There were beamos, rolling spike logs and swinging pendulums. But our heroes worked together to overcome each obstacle. And what waited them at the end?

Gasp!

A door!

We sure didn't see that coming.

The room beyond the door was dark as night, with only small beam of light shining through the ceiling. Looking up, they came face to eye with one of the biggest spiders they had ever seen. Link shot a worried look at Kagome and saw her skin become pale as she began shaking.

"Kagome?"

She turned her fear filled eyes to him. Grabbing her hand, he tried to reassure her.

"It'll be ok, I won't let it get you, but I need your help."

She nodded and took deep breaths, trying to calm her racing heart. Feeling herself calm down, she drew her bow with a determined look upon her face.

"I'll be fine, let's just kill the thing."

It took a combination of Kagome's arrows, the rod and Link's sword, but they were finally able to defeat the giant arachnid. As the beast dissolved, Link took Kagome in his arms and held her close, having a mild understanding of how terrified she truly was.

Midna appeared and collected the shard before turning to address them.

"Three of the mirror shards are ours! Just one left! Link...Kagome… You saw how nasty that monster was, right? The evil within the shards is more powerful than you can imagine... You know we could be assembling something truly terrible here... It could be something that we'll ultimately have to destroy... We have to hurry! Let's fine the last shard! We have to reach the sky! That's where the last shard is supposed to be! I'll get you out of here. You're sure there's nothing else you need to do, right?"

Link nodded.

Once outside, Ooccoo reappeared.

"Well done, adventurer! Ooccoo sees what she was looking for. Goodness, yes! It's the Dominion Rod you found in the temple! But that thing has been around for quite some time. I can see from here that its magic has been exhausted. Ooh, what am I to do... I thought at last I could return to the sky... And I have completely forgotten the spell that would once again bestow it with magic... It can't be helped. I suppose I'll just have to look for the statues that respond to the rod... It's decided! That's what we'll do! That's what we'll do, indeed! Well, Ooccoo is on her way! See you again!"

Midna appeared as Ooccoo ran off.

"Hey! Wait! What did you do to the Dominion Rod? ...She's gone. I suppose a useless rod is really just more baggage, but...what are you going to do? Hmm... Did she just say something about returning to the sky? The last piece of the mirror is also said to be in the heavens... If we can restore magic to the Dominion Rod, maybe it'll come in handy!"

"We should find Shad."

Link looked down into honey colored eyes.

"Why?"

"Didn't he mention something about sky people?"

Link thought back.

"He did, didn't he?"

Kagome nodded.

"Alright, let's go to Telma's and see if Shad is there."

Calling on Midna, they teleported away.


	21. Memories Returned

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

* * *

Walking into the bar, they saw Rusl talking to Telma. The group in the back turned when they saw the door open.

"Hello Rusl, hello Telma."

Telma looked at how pale Kagome was.

"What's wrong honey?"

"Giant spider."

"Oh, I'm sure it wasn't that big."

"I think it would have been too big to fit in the bar."

Telma's eyes widened before sitting Kagome down and getting her something to drink.

Rusl turned to Link.

"So? Did you find the power of the ancient civilization? If you discover anything, could you be sure to also tell Shad? He has been researching the Oocca, who are said to be the ancestors of the Hylians. As we speak, he is in Kakariko Village investigating these sky beings. Perhaps you should go see him? He is an avid scholar, so I am sure his knowledge could be helpful."

"We actually came here looking for him. Just as well he's at Kakariko; I've meaning to check up on the kids."

Telma once more made her presence known.

"Well, when you get there, make Kagome lay down a bit before anymore adventuring. Poor thing still seems a little shaken."

Link gave a sad smile.

"If I had known that thing was there, I would have left her behind."

Rusl and Telma nodded their heads in understanding.

Saying their goodbyes, the two left to a secluded place and had Midna take them to Kakariko. Meeting up with kids, they learned the Shad was in Renado's basement. Taking Kagome to their borrowed house, Link sat with her until she fell asleep before setting off to talk to Shad.

"Oh my... Color me surprised... If it isn't Link! What a coincidence, meeting you in a place like this. How very odd... Say, old boy, do you remember what I told you before about the legend of the sky beings known as the Oocca? Yes, well, there's something about it that's been bothering me, so I came here to snoop about... To think that you would appear here with such perfect timing! You really are a rather extraordinary fellow, aren't you? I've found it at long last... Observe this statue! It's the same as the one in the manuscripts my dear father left me. There are many similar statues around Hyrule, but this one seems to be different. Here, look at the belly... There's something written there, you see? This, too, was in my father's notes... It is called Sky Writing, I believe. 'Awaken us with the word that breaks the seal.'... Yes, indeed, that is what it says. Wait a moment... Isn't that Ilia a friend of yours? It's simply tragic how she lost her memory. And that rod of the heavens she mentioned... I'm sure it has something to do with the word that breaks the seal. Hmm... Isn't there any way to restore her memory? I'm certain it would help us figure this all out... Statues, the word that breaks the seal, and the rod of the heavens... It just gets odder and odder... Now Ilia's memory is the last clue we have to solving this strange puzzle about the heavens... Link, what shall we do?"

Link let out a breath of air.

"If Ilia's memory is the key to this, then we need to find some way to recover it."

"Yes. I'll stay here and try to figure out more."

"Alright."

Returning to Renado's living room, Link saw Gor Goron and Darbus.

Renado look their way when he heard the door open.

"Ah! I have been waiting for you. Fortune has smiled upon us! If things go well, we should be able to help Ilia recover her memory! Do you know Telma's friend, Shad? Well, it seems he is researching the heavens, and he has come here to see the statue in the basement of the sanctuary. And, as I have learned, when Ilia was saved, she overheard someone talking about the rod of the heavens, or something like that... The Goron elder believes that to help her regain her lost memories, we must piece together the fragments of her past... Which means... If we work our way backwards from the very place where she lost her memory, we may find something that will restore it. Now we must retrace Ilia's path... I am certain it was Telma who cared for her before she arrived in this village, was it not? It would be best to speak with her first. Please take this to Telma! It shames me to say it, but to be honest, I cannot abide Telma's company... We have a fighting chance, Link! Shad is still down there in the basement, investigating that statue. Now get going! You must deliver my letter to Telma immediately! I just cannot do it myself... The race to recover Ilia's memory is on, Link!"

After assuring Renado that he would move quickly, he made his way to check on Kagome. Entering the house, he saw that she had just finished getting dressed and was in the process of putting her choker back on. Hearing the sound of footsteps, she looked up and saw him.

"You're looking better," he said as he walked over and helped her.

She smiled.

"That nap helped. So did you learn anything?"

Link spent the next few minutes relaying what all has happened since they arrived. Kagome's eyes were wide as he finished.

"Well what are we waiting for? Let's go!"

Going just outside the village, they quickly called Midna to take them to Telma. Running into town, they dodged and called out apologies as they weaved through the crowds. Bursting into the bar, they startled Telma. Without wasting time, they give her the letter.

"Oooh! Well, if it isn't from Renado the shaman! All this writing, and he doesn't even bother to mention a thing about little ol' me? Honey, that is what I call RUDE! Well, there's no accounting for the foolishness of a man. And at least I understand Ilia's situation now. Of course I can lend a hand for that adorable little girl! Hmmm, what else do I know... The first one to bring Ilia to this shop was that doctor... Maybe he knows something, but he's a crusty old bat, that's for sure... Ah... I've got it! Honey, you go ahead and take this to him. This magic little paper will get that codger talking! It sure would be nice if she started remembering things soon, eh, Link? Don't you worry, honey! That girl's memory will come back! But don't just wait around for things to happen, you hear me? You make sure you take care of what needs doing, OK?"

Kagome turns innocent eyes to Telma.

"You want us to bully the good doctor?"

With an eyebrow raised in amusement, Telma nodded. Kagome's grin turned feral, which made Link nervous. Taking the paper from Telma and grabbing Link, she made her way to the door.

"Let's go Link, time to have some fun!"

Walking along the back alleys, they soon made it to the doctor's residence. Hearing the door open, the doctor looked over to see who entered.

"Eh? What's that? Just as I wondered who it might be, I see it's the admirable young lad and miss who were willing to help the Zora boy for nary a single Rupee... Just what is it you want? A physical? You've some money, don't you? By the way, that girl Ilia didn't mention anything about me, did she? I'll be honest, it'll cost you a fair bit for an examination. It's not that I'm having trouble making money... Not at all! Why, I'm so skilled, they call my hands 'The Golden Mitts'! If you don't have any errand here, then begone, you scoundrel! ...Did she really not say anything at all about me? If you don't have any money, then you're just a bother! A bother! And I'm too busy for bothers!"

Kagome gave a dark smile as she showed the doctor the slip of paper she held.

"AIIIGH! L-Look! I can't pay this off right now! I can see Telma's hired you as some sort of heavy to strong-arm me, but she'll have to wait! Look, lad, if I'd been able to sell the wooden statue that young lady had, I would've been able to get the money... But see, I accidentally spilled medicine all over that little carving, which made it stink awfully. I put it outside to dry...but then... Well, it was stolen. Who goes around stealing people's stuff like that? What a world! You always have to be on guard, eh?...Uh, look, Mr. Heavy, at any rate, neither the money nor the carving is here, so I can't repay you. Now, to work, to work... You're a persistent little bug, eh?! I said I have neither the money nor the wooden statue, you great lout! I can't return what I don't have! Ugh! I can't get rid of that medicine stench, I don't have any money... When it rains misfortune, it pours! Remember that, lad!"

They walked out in foul moods.

"He was going to sell it?!"

"Now Kagome…"

"Don't you 'now Kagome' me! He's a crook!"

"And while I agree, I think you're missing something."

"And just what would that be?"

"He couldn't sell it because it smelled."

A look of understanding crossed over her face.

"And if we get the scent, we could find it!"

Link nodded with a smile.

"I'll sneak in and get the scent, you stay here and wait."

"Alright."

In next to no time, Link came back out, sniffing the ground.

Kagome followed closely behind as he tracked the statue. The scent led them back to Telma's bar where they met up with Louise. Since Kagome was still human, she missed the conversation, but was ready to go when Link set off again. Following Link out the south gate, they found themselves in a small field. Leading Kagome to an out of the way corner, he lied down. Seeing as he wasn't turning human anytime soon, she asked Midna to change her. Once more a wolf, she curled up beside Link.

 _ **What did Louise say?**_

 **She had taken it, and then this pack of demon dogs stole it from her. She said they only show up here at night.**

 _ **So we're playing the waiting game?**_

 **Yep.**

She looked up at the sky.

 _ **We still have a while before nightfall; it's your turn for a nap.**_

Link shook his head.

 **I'll sleep when we get back to Kakariko; I'm too anxious right now.**

The two just waited in a comfortable silence until the moon took charge of the sky. Seeing some of the ground move, they stood and waited for the pack to show. They didn't have to wait long.

 **I'll take one half and you take the other.**

 _ **Fine by me.**_

Together, the two tore through the pack until they were all gone. Picking up the statue, they went back to Kakariko. Walking through the village, they saw no lights. Kagome took Link's hand and began leading him to their house.

"It's too late to do anything now; when we wake up we can give it to Ilia."

"That's probably best."

~* Time Skip *~

As the sun slowly rose through the sky, so did the villagers rise from their beds. Dressing quickly, they made their way over to Renado's. Giving the statue to Ilia, they all watched as her eye took on a faraway look.

"What...is this?! I... I remember something... I was confined somewhere... Yes, and I was saved by whoever was confined with me... And when that person set me free, they gave me this statue... Yes, yes, I remember that much! But that means...that person is still in trouble! Oh, what is WRONG with me?! I can't remember where that place was!"

Gor Goron was studying the figure in her hands closely.

"I REMEMBER!"

Everyone jumped at the sudden noise.

"I thought I had seen that before somewhere... That belonged to the tribe that protected the Hylian royal family long ago. They worked in secret, so they lived in a lonely, forgotten place. But I heard that tribe dwindled in the prolonged wars... If you want to find that hidden village, look for a path leading to the Lanayru province on the far side of the Bridge of Eldin. But...a rockslide blocked the way to the village long ago, so you can't get there anymore. What? Oh, I do not mean to worry you, little human. Problems like these are not problems to Gorons. Our patriarch, Darbus, will be waiting for you up ahead. Look at your map to see where. I would try to find the path beyond the Bridge of Eldin that leads to Lanayru Province. I have marked your map. You must go to the path beyond the long stone bridge that leads to Lanayru Province. Find the hidden village! You cannot forget that even now, some innocent is confined there!"

The two quickly set off at once. It was only a short distance passed the Eldin Bridge where they met with Darbus.

"There is a hidden village up ahead, little humans. The elders call it a forgotten place. This scent that has been burning in my nostrils...it is the scent of evil. There is one powerful creature I have seen about...but under that beast are many minions who attack and plunder like a pack of hyenas. There are 30... No... At most, 20 of them ahead... They are probably just a small band of survivors... Ragged remnants who have settled, leaderless, into this village. If that is all there are, little humans, then you alone are more than enough for them. But you will have to defeat them ALL to save that girl's benefactor. Before you go, I will tell you the secret to besting them: destroy them all before they spot you! Got it, little humans?"

Thanking him for his advice, they set off to help whoever was left in the village.

"This sounds like a job for me!"

"Oh?"

"'Destroy them all before they spot you', that's what he said. With my bow, it should be fairly simple to do just that."

"Then by all means, fire away."

Just like Kagome thought, it was fairly simple to take them all out before they could fight back. As the last one fell to her bow, a door creaked open at the house at the end of the village. Walking to the house, they are greeted by a small woman.

"The howls of the beasts... They've faded into silence...Wait, are you... The savior! It's you, the savior! Please, please forgive me...for not opening up the door. My name is Impaz. I'm the last resident of this poor village. My name comes from the great one who built this village so long ago... This village was once the secret home of a proud tribe who served the royal family... But it fell into decline, and became infested with dangerous beasts. It's become an awful place... Excuse me for asking, but is your name...Link? Ah! I knew it... So then, you saved that nice girl? ...How lovely. When she was here, she would often cheer me up by saying that you would come to help. That sweet girl... She worried about this old woman even as I helped her to escape from here... By royal order, I can't leave this place until a certain person arrives… No matter what terrible fate is visited upon it... Oh, but listen to me blather on! I have a favor to ask: would you help me return this to her? I think she always kept it close to her heart, but even so, she didn't hesitate to part with it in order to protect me... I believe in my heart that it's kept me safe all this time... So please... I ask that you return it to that girl. That dear girl deserves her charm back... And tell her that this old biddy was very grateful. Hey! That rod... Is that the Dominion Rod? Ahh... Could it really be? Are you the messenger to the heavens?! Among the legends of my clan, there is a story from the time when the Oocca still maintained contact with the royal family. Yes, it said that a mysterious rod was handed down from the people of the sky, and it was called the Dominion Rod... The rod was only to be carried by the messenger to the heavens when the royal family needed to communicate with the Oocca. From generation to generation, my ancestors have guarded the book that, by royal decree, was to be given to the messenger to the heavens. This is that book. Please, take it. This book is written in the ancient language of Sky Writing. I am so glad I stayed in this village... If I had not met that young girl, what would have become of me? Meeting that girl must have been ordained by the gods, so that I could be here today to pass on this knowledge... Yes, I was meant to pass on that ancient book from the heavens to you...Please, take care of yourself."

Thanking the old woman, they made their way back to Kakariko Village. Once they returned, they went straight to Renado's house. Kagome stood back against the wall as Link gave Ilia back her charm.

"I... I knew you once...Yes... This feels so familiar... The scent of hay... Long ago... When we were young, you and I... You were always there... You were always beside me...Link. This gift was meant for you. It was something I wanted to give you before you left on your journey. Please, Link, take it. You don't need to worry about me any longer. Whenever you return... I'll be waiting for you. Link... Do you remember what I was saying about the rod of the heavens? Well, actually... It was about the messenger to the heavens who held the rod... The nice woman who saved me told me about it... Apparently, in this woman's village, they've guarded something for the heavenly messenger for generations, so they await him. But they can't give this item away until the messenger arrives with the rod... That's why the lady couldn't leave her village, you see... Say, Link... Do you have any idea who this messenger to the heavens might be? Or even what the rod is? Is that Shad fellow down there a friend of yours, Link? I need to give him my thanks!"

Link smiled and held her tightly, glad to have his friend back. Still smiling, he looked down at Ilia.

"I want you to meet someone; she's been helping me since you guys were taken."

He lifted his head and saw who he was looking for.

"Kagome, come here and meet Ilia!"

Kagome walked over with a smile on her face. As she reached the two Ordonians, she held out her hand to Ilia.

"It's nice to meet you; Link has been very worried about you since I met him."

Ilia returned the smile and shook Kagome's hand.

"It's nice to meet you as my normal self."

Kagome let out a little laugh. Link interrupted their meeting.

"Hey Ilia, why don't you tell the kids you're back."

"Will you come with?"

Link shook his head.

"We need to get this to Shad and try to figure out what our next move will be."

Ilia gave him a small smile.

"Alright, we'll talk later then?"

"Of course!"

"Ok, bye Kagome."

"Bye, Ilia!"

The three separated, one to the door and the others to the basement. As the two warriors made their way down, neither noticed a set of green eyes narrow in suspicion and jealousy.

Finally reaching Shad, they showed him the book they were given.

"What's this? Ah! It's Sky Writing! Where in blazes did you get this? You don't suppose this could be the word that breaks the seal... R-Right! Let's try it out!"

[He repeats the ancient incantation]

"...No reaction. So it is not this statue... Urgh... Link, thanks ever so. You have brought me one step closer to solving this puzzle. I shall give the book back to you. Now! I shall try out this word on other statues! I have made the rounds of these statues so many times that I have memorized their locations. I will place marks on your map so you can find them, in case you wish to track them down. Remember, every one of those marks is near an owl statue! Now, if you'll excuse me!"

As soon as Shad left, they noticed a glow coming from Link's pack. Reaching in, he pulls out the reawakened Dominion rod.

Midna made an appearance.

"The writing in the book was a spell that imbued the staff with magic! Now you can do to the other statues what you did before... So... He did say he would mark your map wherever there was a statue, didn't he? Then we should go check out those spots, right, Link?"

Kagome looked at the Rod, then back at Link.

"Something tells me that we'll have better luck than Shad."

"Does this count as cheating?"

She raised an eyebrow at him.

"The Goddesses left this stuff for you, are you accusing them of cheating?"

Link snorted.

"Of course not, but you did accuse me of cheating when we got into the Fire Temple."

"You got those boots from a man who _really_ wanted to win at wrestling," she countered.

"Let's just agree to disagree," Link suggests.

"That would be in your best interest."

Together they looked at the map.

"That one looks pretty close."

Kagome was pointing to a spot just outside of Kakariko village.

"We can take Epona to this one, and then Midna can take us to the others. It will save a lot of time that way."

Link studied the map, thinking over what Kagome said.

"That's actually a good idea."

"Of course it is; it was my idea!"

My, aren't we the humble one?"

She ignores him.

Following the plan, the two went all around Hyrule collecting characters, with a hiccup or two along the way.

~* Eldin Bridge *~

After Link moves the statues, Kagome would hop up and find the book character. This was the plan they used to help the search go faster. As one may guess, this got kind of boring after a while. While moving the statue at Eldin Bridge, a slow grin spread across Link's face. Once Kagome was on the statue, Link activated it and moved it just enough to shake Kagome. The small scream from Kagome made the smile on Links face get bigger.

We won't get into details, but let's just say that Link wasn't smiling when Kagome finally got a hold of him.

~* At a Random Location *~

"Hey, Link?

"Yes?"

"Something just occurred to me."

"What's that?"

"Well, that funny looking bird we keep running into is trying to get home to the sky, right?"

"Yes."

"And according to Shad, whoever lives up in the sky is who you're descended from, right?"

"What are you getting at?"

"If that bird is one of the sky people Shad keeps talking about, we might have been talking to one of your relatives this whole time!"

"…Please don't say that."

~* Time Skip *~

After finding the last character, they made their way back to Renado's basement to speak with Shad. When they found him, they handed him the book.

"Is that the book from last time? ...Hm? Are there more letters in the word than the last time I looked at this? How did you investigate the... Link, this is amazing! Amazing! Now THIS must be the word we need! Let's try it immediately! Ah! It has taken on the same shape as the other statues...What can this mean? And I thought we had solved the last of the riddles... Blast! How confounding!...I must apologize, Link. I need to cool off a tad before I mull the problem further... Blast it! This thing has confounded me thoroughly..."

While Shad's back was turned, Link quickly moved the statue using the Dominion rod.

"Link?! How in blazes did you move that statue?! And...what's this… Amazing! Spectacular! This must be the Sky Cannon I read about in my father's notes! I knew that my intuition was onto something when it led me here! ...But how can one use this to get to the City in the Sky? Stunning... I feel almost...nervous! Just think, if we could get this to work, we could actually reach the City in the Sky..."

Behind the statue, a room had been hidden. Within the room, rested a large broken cannon. Midna appears before them, careful to stay out of Shad's sight.

"You might figure something out if you try to move it... Oh, what to do, what to do? I'll carry it for you. I don't mind. Why don't we show it to someone who might know something about it?"

Link turns back to Shad.

"Hey Shad?"

"...Ahh! Perhaps... I am in your way? Well, forgive me for not realizing! I should just disappear at times like this, really. So... Let me know the results another time, Link. ...Ah yes! Let me give you one last piece of advice... That seems to be broken, so you'd do well to show it to a cannon expert first, I should say! Farewell!"

A dejected Shad leaves the room. Kagome looks at him sadly.

"Poor Shad."

Midna looks at them both.

"...I wonder if I put him off."

Both Hylians give her a dry look. Kagome looks at Link.

"Our best bet would be to take it to Fyer."

"That's what I was thinking."

And off they went.


	22. Betrayal

AN: Hey everyone! As you noticed, I did a triple update yesterday. I'll be doing the same today and tomorrow and that will finish up this story. So pay attention to the chapters so you don't get lost! Enjoy!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

"Hey, buddy! So... Uh, is that yours? Heh heh... Hey, buddy, I never thought you'd get so hooked on Fantastication that you'd try to build your own cannon! So...are you gonna give me the tour or what? Looks like you have a serious rig over there... Whoa! It's kind of...retro, huh? And there's no ignition device, so you can't even use it. Listen, buddy, I suppose I might be able to fix it for you...I mean, maybe...That is, if you can pay me 300 Rupees...in advance. Whaddaya say?"

When Link and Kagome landed in Lake Hylia, it seemed that Fyer wasted no time to come see them. After Link handed him the money, Fyer ran as fast as he could to get his tools to begin the repair. Kagome blinked in surprise as she watched the little man run.

"Wow, he sure is enthusiastic about his cannons."

Link laughed at her.

"Come on, we have some planning to do while he works on it."

They had Midna take them back to Kakariko and made their way to their little house. Since it was getting dark, they went ahead and dressed in their bed clothes. Link was sitting at the table repacking while Kagome was lying on her stomach on the bed.

"I think it would be best if I stayed here this time."

Link looked at her in surprise.

"Why?"

"We're getting close to ending this, Zant might get desperate and start attacking people to try and stop us. If both of us are gone, there will be no one here to defend the village."

"You make a good point, but still."

Kagome smiled at him.

"It's not like you'll get lonely, Midna will be with you."

She laughed at the dry look he sent her. Taking a break, Link walked over to the bed and lay down on his back beside her, staring at the ceiling.

"It is getting close, isn't it?"

Kagome moved to lie on her side and just looked at him before continuing the conversation.

"It is," Link replied. "Soon this will all be over and we can go home."

Scooting closer, Kagome rested her head on Link's chest as he wrapped as arm around her and drew her close.

'I like that word,' she thought. ' _Home._ "

Her thoughts were interrupted as she saw Link yawn.

"Let's get to sleep," she said to the sleepy blonde. "We'll go see how Fyer is doing with the cannon in the morning."

"Alright."

Getting up, they both stood by their side of the bed and lifted the covers before sliding in. Kagome was just slipping into dreamland when she felt Link grab her by the waist and draw her close, burying his face in her hair.

~* The Next Morning *~

Everyone was in the inn eating breakfast. Renado began the breakfast conversation.

"So what will you do today?"

Link swallowed his eggs before answering.

"Kagome and I need to talk with someone about a job their doing for me. If he isn't done, we'll come back. If he is finished, I'll be going to take care of something and Kagome will come back."

Ilia looked curiously at Link.

"What do you have to take care of?"

"It has to do with everything that's been happening in Hyrule."

"Is it dangerous?"

"I don't know. I'll find out when I get there."

Colin decided to enter the discussion.

"Why are you just going? Why is Kagome staying?"

"Kagome felt that it would be smarter to stay behind. That way she could help defend if the village gets attacked again."

Ilia asked a question that has been bugging her since she retained her memories.

"How did you meet Kagome anyway?"

Everyone looked interested in is answer.

"Just after we were attacked at the spring, I found myself in a tight spot and she helped me out."

"Wow, that was lucky."

Link nodded his agreement. Ilia looked toward the cooking area where Kagome teaching Beth how to dry meat for jerky. Her eyes narrowed in suspicion.

'A little too lucky, if you ask me,' she thought darkly.

Excusing himself from the table, Link made his way over the Kagome and Beth and whispered something in her ear.

A pang of jealousy shot through her.

'Now that I'm here, Link doesn't need her anymore. Now I just need to get rid of her,' she thought darkly.

Ilia planned to talk everyone as soon as Link and Kagome left.

~* Time Skip *~

Link and Kagome had left just after breakfast had finished and were now staring slack jawed at the finished cannon. Fyer was beside them looking pleased with himself.

"Here we go, buddy. All working as it should...I think. It may look like junk, but this thing's got some powerful innards! You're going to be knocking on the door to the heavens! Seriously, bud... It might be rough! So... I'm sorry for soaking you for the dough. I'll leave you alone, then. Heh heh... Well, you just have all the fun you want, OK, buddy?"

Turning around, he made his way back to his floating house. Kagome turned to Link.

"You have everything?"

"Yes."

"You're sure?"

"Pretty sure."

"You remembered the bow?"

"I still think you should keep it."

She shook her head.

"I get the feeling you'll need it more than me. Besides, I still have my dagger."

Link drew her into a hug and held her tight. Wrapping her arms around his neck, she returned the embrace.

"You be careful up there."

"I will. Oh, before I forget."

He removed Epona's whistle from around his neck and gave it to her.

"I won't need it up there, so you'll have to hold onto it for me."

With a smile on her face, Kagome backed away as Link drew his hook shot and prepared himself for launch. Just as he got it the cannon, Ooccoo and her son hopped in just as the door was closing. With a giant bang, Link made his way into the Heavens.

Making her way up to the bridge, Kagome took out the whistle and called for Epona. Going over the bridge leading to Kakariko Village, Kagome passed by the postman, who seemed to be in a hurry. Thinking nothing of it, she continued into the dusty village, and made her way to the house she had been sharing with Link. Shutting the door behind her, she looked up and saw Ilia with all the kids sitting around the room.

Kagome's face took on a worried expression.

"Is everything alright?"

None of them would look at her, except Ilia, whose face was unreadable.

"How long did you think you could fool us?"

Kagome blinked in shock at the harsh way Ilia spoke to her.

"What do you mean fool you?"

Ilia scoffed.

"Just after we were captured, you help Link out of whatever and then you decide to tag along, seems awfully convenient if you ask me."

Kagome held a confused and almost scared look on her face.

"Ilia, I have no idea what you're talking about."

Ilia's face took on an angry expression.

"You can stop pretending, we know you're working with those creatures!"

"What?!"

Ilia continued as is Kagome had not spoken.

"Isn't it odd how after you and Link find the children here, those monsters come and kidnap Colin again?"

"Are you really accusing me of being some sort of spy?"

Ilia had a smug look on her face and gestured towards the children.

"Ask them what they think."

None of them would look at her.

It was Colin who spoke up.

"You have to admit Kagome," he said quietly. "Since you showed up, a lot has happened to us."

Kagome's heart was breaking at every word.

"Just where are you from anyway."

Kagome looked over to Ilia's suspicious face before bowing her head.

"It doesn't matter, I can never go back."

"You're really not helping yourself."

A sad smile adorned Kagome's face.

"Does it really matter; you've already found me guilty."

Kagome looked over the kids.

"So what now?"

A hard look crossed over Ilia's face.

"Now you leave, after you give back the charm I made for Link."

"Is this really what you want?"

The answering silence was deafening.

"Very well. Malo, can I assume you won't sell me any supplies?"

He didn't answer.

"Alright, just let me get my stuff. Ilia, may I speak to you privately?"

"Go ahead guys, it's not like she'll attack me now that we know what she is."

They waited until the kids were gone before Kagome turned to look at Ilia.

"What is this really about?"

"Link is mine!"

"I'm sorry?"

"You were just a replacement until he found me. He doesn't need you anymore."

Tears began to well up in Kagome's eyes.

"Are you that petty and insecure that you would turn those kids against me just to get me out of your way?"

"Link and I grew up together. Everyone in the village talks about how we will eventually get married. Having you around will just confuse him and lead him from his future."

Kagome could not believe what she was hearing.

'It's just like before.'

"Very well."

She looked into Ilia's triumphant face.

"I'll leave and won't come back. If that is what you truly wish."

"It is."

Giving a nod, Kagome bent to pick up her pack.

"Leave it."

She turned confused eyes to the cold voice.

"I'll be the one helping Link now, so I'll need that stuff more that you."

Shoulders slumped in defeat, Kagome made her way out of the house. Looking up, she saw the hard stares of the adults and the children's downward gazes. Looking down at the ground, she made her way out of town.

'Where will I go now,' she thought sadly. 'Maybe Telma will have a room I can rent until I figure out where to go from here.'

Without Epona or Midna, it took a lot longer to reach Telma's Bar than what Kagome was used to.

Opening the door to the bar, Kagome was quick to notice a tense feeling in the air. Walking up to the bar, Kagome smiled at the matron.

"Hello Telma."

Telma just glanced at her before going back to drying her mugs. Glancing at the back room, she saw the glares cast in her direction.

"Telma?"

Wordlessly, an opened letter was slid over to Kagome. Quickly reading it, she realized that it was a letter to Telma from Ilia. It was a letter about Kagome's betrayal. Placing the letter back on the bar, Kagome walked back to the door. Before walking out, she turned to the bar's inhabitants and gave them a watery smile.

"I'm glad to have met you all, goodbye."

Kagome dejectedly walked out of Castle Town.

'I could go to Link's house, but Ilia probably sent the village a letter as well. I guess I'll just wander around.'

So deep in thought was she, that she heard the sounds of pigs almost too late. Turning in alarm, she saw a group of bulblins coming straight towards her. Some were on boars, while others were on foot.

'I can't fight them all!'

Turning on her heel, Kagome ran as fast as she could towards the forest. The pounding of hoofs steadily grew closer.

'I won't make it.'

Turning mid run, Kagome took out her dagger and got into a battle stance, waiting for them to reach her.

'If I go down, it will be fighting.'

The bulblins quickly surrounded her and began their attack. Kagome fought with all she had, but something felt wrong.

'They don't seem to be fighting as hard as before, it's almost like they're…'

In a lucky shot, one of the bulblins knocked her dagger from her hand. She had no time to realize what had happened before her world was covered in darkness.


	23. Where's Kagome?

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

The first thing Kagome was aware of when she regained consciousness was the pounding of her head.

"Ugh, what happened?"

Trying to move, she found herself sitting on a stone floor. The only thing keeping her up were the shackles attached to the wall behind her. Hearing the door open, Kagome looked up. Zant entered first, followed by an armored man wearing a cape who hid his face in the shadows.

"Hello Zant, who's your friend?"

Neither answered her. Instead, they raised their hands, their palms facing her. Her eyes widened in fear as she saw their power begin to focus before being shot towards her. Her screams echoed through the dungeons where she was held.

~* Elsewhere *~

A giant splash interrupted the quiet serenity of Lake Hylia. Breaking the surface of the water was a very wet Link. Swimming towards the nearest spot of land, Link climbed up and lied there, letting the sun dry him off.

Midna's shadowy form appeared.

"What are you waiting for? Let's go get Kagome and put this mirror back together!"

"Alright, alright."

Standing up, Link stretched before turning to Midna.

"I feel like running, mind turning me wolf?"

Once more on four paws, Link began his run towards Kakariko Village. Passing through the southern part of Hyrule Field, Link stopped as a scent hit his nose.

 **This is Kagome's scent. What was she doing here?**

"Hey, what did you stop for?"

Ignoring his passenger, Link followed his nose to where her scent was strongest.

He stopped short as he caught sight of her dagger upon the ground.

 **What is this doing here?**

Turning his head, he indicated that he wanted to be human again. Once human again, he bent down and picked up the dagger.

"Isn't that Kagome's?"

"Yeah, we need to get to Kakariko fast to make sure she's…"

A glint of light in the grass caught Link's attention. Walking over to the spot, he bent down and pulled something from the grass.

"What did you find?"

Without a word, Link opened his fist so Midna could see.

"That's the choker you gave her."

"Which also has some blood on it."

"…It might not be hers," Midna tried to comfort.

Link clenched his fist around the charm.

"We need to Kakariko," he said in a hard voice. "Now."

As soon as he finished his sentence, he found himself outside the village. Not seeing anyone outside, he ran towards the house they shared. What he found inside, was not what he was expecting. Sitting on the bed, was not Kagome, but Ilia.

"Ilia?"

She looked at him with a smile on her face.

"Welcome back, Link."

"Thanks, where's Kagome?"

He barely caught the dark look that passed over her face.

"She left."

Link gave her a confused look.

"She left?"

Ilia nodded.

"Why?"

"Because we figured something out about her and she left."

Link narrowed his eyes in thought.

"Where is everyone?"

"Probably at the inn."

Link turned back to the door, but something caught his eye. Walking over to the wall, he picked up Kagome's pack. With hard eyes, he turned back to Ilia.

"Did she leave, or was she run off?"

Not waiting for an answer, he went out the door and made his way to the inn. Entering, he made his way to table which held the inhabitants of the village. The kids looked happy to see him, until they saw his face.

"So, does anyone want to tell me what happened?"

No one said a word.

"Let's try this again. Does anyone know why Kagome isn't here?"

Beth spoke up in a quiet voice.

"She left."

"So I heard, now can you tell me why?"

It was Colin who spoke up this time.

"Because we figured out…"

"Figured out what?"

"That she was working with the monsters."

Link blinked in shock.

"What in the world gave you that idea?!"

The kids started speaking at once.

"When she showed up Colin was taken!"

"She's not from around here!"

"Something always happens when she's around!"

"It was weird how you two met!"

Link took a step back.

"Whoa, hold on a minute."

The room quieted down.

"So what you're saying is that you don't trust me."

Everyone's eyes widened at the accusation. It was Ilia who broke the silence.

"Of course we trust you!"

"If that were true, you would have trusted that if I had the slightest suspicion that she wasn't trust worthy, I would have never traveled with her."

The silence that followed that statement was louder than any sound heard before.

"Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go find her."

Without waiting, he turned on his heel and made his way back to the house. Ilia was quick to follow. She waited until they reached the house and the door was shut before speaking.

"I can help."

Link turned confused eyes on her.

"What do you mean?"

"You don't need her anymore; I can help you with whatever you're doing."

A slow look of understanding shone in Link's eyes.

"You set this in motion."

Ilia's silence was all the conformation he needed.

"You convinced everyone that she was a spy, just to get rid of her."

A defiant look appeared in her eyes.

"Yes."

"Why?"

"She was in the way!"

Link glared.

"In the way of what?"

"Us!"

"What 'us'?"

Ilia rolled her eyes in annoyance.

"I know you've heard the villagers talk about how handsome a pair we make and how they couldn't wait for us to get married."

Link stared at her in confusion.

"Goddesses Link! She was getting in the way! I saw how you looked at each other! I chased her off because I will not have my husband look at another woman in such a way!"

Link looked calmly into her angry face.

"I'm not your husband."

Shock quickly replaced the anger on Ilia's face.

"What?"

"I'm not your husband, and I never will be."

"You can't mean that."

"Had none of this happened, had I never met Kagome, there is a good chance we would have married."

He paused when tears formed in her eyes, but then he remembered the bloody choker around his wrist.

"But the fact is that I did meet her, and I'm glad that all this happened."

Bending down, he picked up Kagome's pack and headed for the door.

"And I also saw the person you really are."

Without looking back, he walked out the door and made his way to Epona. He said nothing to the kids who stood around him, just jumped on Epona and left the village.

~* Time Skip *~

Figuring where Kagome's next stop would be, he walked into Telma's Bar, hoping he would find her there.

"Link, honey, how are you?"

Link gave her a smile.

"I've been better."

"What's wrong honey?"

Link took a breath.

"Is Kagome here?"

Telma blinked in shock.

"She stopped in, but left after I showed her the letter Ilia sent me."

Link's eyes narrowed in suspicion.

"Can I see that letter?"

Handing him the letter, everyone watched his face as he read it. He handed it back to her, before turning to Rusl.

"You might want to talk to Bo about his daughter. Apparently she saw Kagome as a threat to her future."

Rusl was confused.

"What future?"

"Surely you heard what the women have said about us."

A look of understanding appeared on his face.

"You mean what they said about…?"

Link merely nodded.

Telma looked between them.

"What's going on?"

"You explain it Rusl, I have to find Kagome," he said as moved away from the bar. "I found her dagger and choker near some dead bulblins, but I didn't find her."

"Choker," questioned Rusl.

Link held up his wrist. "The one I gave her."

Auru squinted at it. "Is that…?"

"Blood? Yes, I just pray it isn't hers."

Rusl paled and dropped his head in his hands.

"Be safe," Telma called as he walked away.

With a wave, he walked out the door. He was soon face to face with Midna.

"Let's go fix that mirror!"

Giving her a nod, they left. They arrived in front of the broken mirror.

"Some call our realm a world of shadows, but that makes it sound unpleasant...The twilight there holds a serene beauty... You have seen it yourself as the sun sets on this world. Bathed in that light, all people were pure and gentle...But things changed once that foul power pervaded the world..."

The Sages appeared before them.

"It was all our doing...We overestimated our abilities as sages and attempted to put an end to

Ganondorf's evil magic...I hope you can find it in yourself to forgive our carelessness...O Twilight Princess."

She looked over to Link, expecting to see anger as her secret came out. All she saw was an amused eyebrow. She looked at him in shock.

"What? So...you knew? As a ruler who fled her people, I'm hardly qualified to forgive you. In our world, we've long believed that the Hero would appear as a divine beast. That's why when I found you; I thought I could use you, Link. And I only cared about returning our world to normal...I didn't care what happened to the world of light, not at all. But after witnessing the selfless lengths that Princess Zelda and you have gone to... Your sacrifices...I now know, in the bottom of my heart, that I must save this world, too. There is no other way. If we can just defeat Zant, the curse on me will dissolve, and we may be able to revive Zelda. Let's go, Link! For Zelda! For all of this world!"


	24. The Twilight Realm

AN: This the third chapter I've put up today, so be sure to go back a couple of chapters to read them!

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

The world that Link found himself in was like nothing he had ever seen. The sky was a combination of purple and black, as if done by an artist. The ground below his feet glowed a beautifully eerie green. Right before his eyes stood three buildings. Between two of the buildings was, what appeared to be, a stone courtyard. As he moved to take his first step in this strange world, Midna appeared before him.

"Um, listen, Link. Can I ask you one last selfish favor? Regardless of what my reasons may have been, I once abandoned this world...I left behind the Twili. Those who had followed me... Who considered me their ruler...Even now, as they remain here, suffering, they believe that help will come for this world...But if they were to see that the only help for them was a hideous little imp...Don't you think they'd feel let down? It's only for a little bit longer... Do you mind if I continue to hide as your shadow while you're in human form? I'm sorry..."

"If that's what you believe to be best."

Without answering, Midna faded back into his shadow.

Approaching the courtyard, he came upon a pair of Twilight Messengers. Thinking it strange that they did not move to attack, Link reached to draw his blade.

"Wait! This guy isn't an enemy, Link. They might look different, but...they're inhabitants of this world... They're my people. Zant... How could he..."

Link's face took on a look of horror.

"He did this to his own people?!"

Making their way up the stairs leading to the throne room, they were stopped by a waterfall of shimmery black dust.

"Link, be careful...This black fog is made up of shadow crystals created by Zant. They blot out light...He's responsible for stealing the light from the spirits and turning your world into twilight...But he's not all-powerful. We're prepared too. I can return you to your normal state whenever you need, so don't worry, OK?"

"So what do you suggest we do?"

"We go into the other buildings, I have the feeling that our answer lies in there."

Following her suggestion, Link traveled through the first building. At the end of the building, a large stone hand held a glowing sphere. As Link was making his way over to it, a familiar fence appeared. What faced him were not the monsters he was used to. Instead, a glowing image of Zant met him. Link was able to get a hit on him, before he moved away and summoned a cloud of Twilight Keese. It was easy getting rid of them. It was not, however, easy to get ahold of Phantom Zant as he kept popping up everywhere. Link finally saw his chance when he noticed it staying in place instead of moving. They danced the same steps repeatedly until Link delivered his final blow. Phantom Zant burst into a cloud of Dust as he fell. Luckily Link was able to turn back as soon as he was out of the cloud. He moved closer to the stone hand and listened as Midna spoke.

"That shining sphere illuminates this world. It's called a Sol. It's like the sun of your world, Link. The power of the Sol is the source of life in this world... It is pure power. Ah! As long as you have this...Would you take this Sol to the Twili at the entrance of this world? Please, Link!"

"It looks like the spheres the spirits held."

Midna hummed her agreement.

Picking up the Sol, they began to make their way to the door when a loud hum met their ears. Turning slowly, their eyes widened as they saw the stone hand come to life and move slowly towards them. As he moved with the Sol in his hands, he saw it scare away the Dust. As the Dust cleared, he saw an indentation. Taking a guess, he placed the Sol in and watched as stairs appeared. Running up the stairs, he took out his hook shot and prepared to retrieve the Sol. He barely got it back before the hand grabbed it. Running as fast as he could, he made it back outside to the courtyard. Replacing the Sol, he saw some of the light return to the world and changed its appearance, much like in his own world.

The second building was much the same as the first, with Link running from a living hand after grabbing the Sol. Replacing the last Sol in its rightful spot, the rest of the light returned to the world, and also to Link's sword.

"Amazing... The power of the Sols has been transferred to your sword...The guardian deities of my world are on our side, too! You really are the chosen one, Link... A true hero! As long as you have that sword, you should be able to repel the shadows Zant has spread!"

Walking back up the stairs, they were once more faced with the dark waterfall.

"Shadow crystals flow like waterfalls here... There's no way we can get rid of all of them. Charge your sword up and release the power of the Sol all at once."

Taking a mighty swing, Link dispersed the Dust with the sword powered by the Sols. Jumping through, they made their way up the tower and into the throne room. Zant sat in the throne, with a covered figure sitting at his feet.

"Zant. Isn't this ironic? Here we are, all thanks to the dark magic curse you placed on Link!"

Zant stood and addressed Midna.

"You speak of magic? Still your tongue for a moment, whelp, and I will tell you of both magic and the oppression of ages...The people of our tribe...a tribe that mastered the arts of magic...were locked away in this world like insects in a cage. In the shadows we regressed, so much so that we soon knew neither anger nor hatred...nor even the faintest bloom of desire. And all of it was the fault of a useless, do-nothing royal family that had resigned itself to this miserable half-existence! I had served and endured in that depraved household for far too long, my impudent princess. And why, you ask? Because I believed I would be the next to rule our people! THAT is why! But would they acknowledge me as their king? No! And as such, I was denied the magic powers befitting our ruler. It was then, in the thrall of hatred and despair, that I turned my eyes to the heavens...and found a god. My god had only one wish...To merge shadow and light...and make darkness!"

Link's hand rested on his swords hilt.

Zant's voice stopped him.

"Oh, you won't be fighting me just yet."

Clapping his hands, the figure beside him stood.

"I have a bad feeling about this."

Link nodded his agreement.

As the figure stood at full height, the cloak covering it fell away.

"Ka-Kagome?!"

It was indeed Kagome, but at the same time not.

The woman before him was dressed in a black and blue outfit. The top crossed in front of her neck and below her chest, showing much of her breasts through the hole the design made. The left portion of her top was black, while the right was blue. The straps of the top connected to a blue belt that held up a long skirt. The skirt was black and looked to be in two pieces and flowed around her feet, which were bare except for a few anklets. The front of the skirt was wide enough to cover her, but at the same time thin enough to fall between her legs as she walked forward. The back of the skirt wrapped itself around to attach to the front. Both pieces bore the same emblem Zant wore on the front of his armor. Parts of her hair had been braided and pulled back into a ponytail; her bangs had been left alone. Her face was different as well. Her mouth had been painted a blood red and her eye makeup, the same blue and black of her dress, surrounded her now red eyes.

Link was mad.

"What did you do to her?!"

Zant gave a smirk.

"She was a gift from my master."

Link growled.

"And she is trained ever so well. Allow me to demonstrate. Kagome?"

She turned her head enough for her to show she is listening while keeping her eyes on Link.

"Destroy him."

Extending her arm to the side, a strange weapon appeared in her hand. It was a long staff with a decent sized blade attached. Running at Link, she brought her weapon above her head and swiped at him.

Link blocked with his sword.

They danced this way for a while. Link dodged and blocked while Kagome was gracefully kicking his ass. Swiping low with her weapon, Kagome wiped Link's feet out from under him. Spinning her weapon above her head, she brought it down to end his life.

"Stop."

Link opened one eye and looked around before opening the other.

Kagome had one foot on Link's chest and her blade rested lightly on his neck as she stood over him with an expressionless face. Zant got up from his throne and made his way toward them.

"Return to your place pet, I will fight him now."

Soundlessly Kagome followed her master's command and once again took her seat on the floor beside the throne. With a flick of his wrists, the throne room turned into the room that held the Twilit Diababa. Using the gale boomerang, Link used the same technique that defeated the plant monster. In the next instant, he found himself back in the Goron Mine, on the blue platform suspended over lava. Link had to laugh as Zant started jumping on the platform much like a toddler throwing a tantrum. Zant recreated two more places before the final showdown in front of Hyrule Castle. Using his magic, he transforms his arms into two long curved blades. Spinning like a top, he came after Link repeatedly. For a while, the fight was pretty evenly matched, even after Link's fight with Kagome. This really should say something about Zant when you think about it. Finally, Link was able to land one final hit before the illusion Zant trapped them in broke. The fused shadows that Zant had stolen rushed from his body and absorbed themselves into Midna's body.

"Y-You...TRAITORS!"

They looked and saw Zant slumped in his throne, Kagome still sitting beside him.

Midna snarled back.

"Traitors, ha! You want to know why none would call you king? It was your eyes, Zant. All saw it, a lust for power burning in your pupils... Did you think we'd forget our ancestors lost their king to such greed?"

Giving a weak chuckle, Zant looked at Midna.

"Midna... Foolish Twilight Princess... The curse on you cannot be broken...It was placed on you by the magic of my god! The power you held as leader of the Twili will never return! Already he has descended and been reborn in this world...As long as my master, Ganon, survives, he will resurrect me without cease!"

He looked down at the girl at his feet.

"Finish him off, Kagome."

Her strange staff forming once more in her hand, Kagome rushed at Link.

Angry with Zant, Midna looked at him with such hate that her hair took on a life of its own and rushed forward, stabbing him in the chest.

At the same time, Kagome had just run in front of Link, preparing her weapon to strike, when she suddenly dropped it and threw back her head and screamed.

Link watched wide eyed as Midna's hair caused Zant to expand and explode. As he disappeared, Kagome screams were silenced as she lost consciousness. It was fortunate that Link was close enough to catch her as she fell. With one arm supporting her back and the other under her knees, he turned to Midna.

Midna was holding her face in shock.

"I... I used just a fraction of the power that's in me now...I did THAT using only a fraction of my ancestor's magic?!"

She turned to Link with a determined look in her eye.

"Link! Now is the time! We must save Zelda! The evil power Zant was wielding... I couldn't take it from him. But at least I still have the magic of my ancestors...With it, I can return the cherished power Zelda bestowed upon me..."

She paused in thought.

"Before we rescue Zelda, you should take care of Kagome."

Link looked down at the woman in his arms.

"I'll take her back to my house for now, it's far enough …"

Both sets of eyes widened as Kagome's body began breaking into particles before disappearing altogether.

"What happened?!"

Midna shook her head in shock.

"I don't know," her eyes widened as a thought struck her. "Zant said his master gave her to him!"

"So what, this 'master' took her back?"

"More than likely."

Clenching his fists in anger, Link turned and began making his way towards the exit.

"Let's get back to Hyrule," he said with determination. "It's about time we finished this."


	25. Clearing Things Up

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

Normal

 **Wolf Link**

 _ **Wolf Kagome**_

* * *

Arriving back to Arbiter's Grounds, Midna caught Link's attention.

"It looks to be midday, why don't we head back to your house and rest for the night before storming the castle?"

Link thought about it for a bit.

"Might be a good idea. I should probably stop by Bo's house while I'm there."

Midna gave him a confused look.

"Why?"

A bitter smile adorned his face.

"Just to see if Rusl did as I asked."

The imp was silent. The blonde warrior turned to face his companion.

"Let's get going, we have a lot to do tomorrow."

Without a word, Midna spirited them away.

~* Ordon *~

After stopping by his house and changing into his village clothes, Link made his way into town. Following the well-known path to the Mayor's house, he noticed the villagers staring at him and smiling as they whispered to each other. He also noticed how it seemed as though the village was getting ready for a party or festival.

'I wonder what the occasion is,' he thought to himself.

Coming up to the walkway of the Mayor's house, Link paused as he heard someone call out to him.

"Link!"

Turning, he saw Rusl jogging up to him.

"Rusl."

The swordsman winced at the cool tone of his apprentice.

"Uh, heading to Bo's are you?"

A blonde eyebrow rose.

"I'm assuming you haven't gone over, then?"

"I just returned to the village myself," the swordsman admitted.

Turning back around, Link walked up to the door; Rusl followed him.

Link had just raised a fist to knock when the door swung open and a large hand grabbed onto the front of his shirt and pulled him in. Rusl blinked at the spot where the young warrior stood before looking skyward and sending a quick prayer to the Goddesses before entering the house and shutting the door.

~* Inside the Mayor's House *~

Rusl came into the living room in time to see Link loose his breath as a smiling Bo gave him a hearty slap on the back.

"Take a seat Link, you too Rusl!"

After getting his guests some water, Bo turned toward Link.

"I have to say Link; Ilia's letter certainly came as a surprise."

Bo leaned back in his chair with a smile.

"It doesn't really come as that big a surprise, the whole village has been saying it would happen since you were kids."

He took no notice of Rusl hiding his face in his hands.

"And the mess with that girl! I don't you blame you, Link. Women like that have a way of making even the strongest of men fall to their charms. You're lucky Ilia was able to see what was really going on."

He paused, paying no attention to Link's body language.

"With all of these problems coming about, the wedding is just the thing to help raise the village's spirits."

Link narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

"What wedding?"

Bo laughed.

"I know you asked Ilia to keep it quiet until you and the kids got back because of all the danger, but you didn't really think she wouldn't tell her own father, did you?"

His face took on a sheepish look.

"Of course the rest of the village knowing is my fault. I was just so happy I kind of blurted it out without thinking."

"Bo."

The Mayor was startled at the underlining anger in the young man's voice.

"What. Wedding?"

Bo looked confused.

"Yours and Ilia's, of course."

Slowly exhaling, Link asked to see the letter. Still confused, Bo handed it over. It contained much of the same information that Telma's had, but this letter included how he, Link, had proposed to Ilia and she gave a detailed description of the dream wedding they had talked about. Carefully placing the letter on the table in front of him, Link looked Bo straight in the eye.

"I believe we need to talk about everything that has happened. All of it."

Rusl looked up at this. He thought he knew all that was going on.

~* Many Hours Later *~

During the retelling of the adventure, the room gained a new occupant. Midna appeared so as to validate Link's story.

"After Midna destroyed Zant, we were just about to leave the throne room when Kagome vanished from my arms."

Bo and Rusl looked at the young warrior with emotions ranging from disbelief, to anger and to pity. It was Rusl who spoke.

"Do you know what happened to her?"

Link shook his head, but it was Midna who voiced the answer.

"We think that whoever was directing Zant took her."

Rusl nodded.

"So you think she is in the castle."

Link finally looked back up.

"It's really the only place she can be."

All three turned to Bo, who was still silent, his eyes closed and arms folded in front of his chest. It seemed like forever before he opened his eyes.

"Link, you get rested up and get ready to get back that girl of yours. Don't let Ilia know you've been to see me. You just worry about dealing with the guy behind all this."

"What about Ilia and the villagers?"

Bo looked over at Rusl.

"I'll deal with the village as soon as Link leaves, and Ilia will be dealt with when she comes back."

"I'm really sorry Bo."

The large man shook his head.

"You don't have anything to be sorry for. I let that girl get away with a lot growing up; I guess I just forgot to tell her that she can't have everything she wants."

Shaking his head, he stood and held out his hand.

"Get on home Link; you have a big day ahead of you."

With a smile, Link took his hand and shook it before leaving. As soon as he stepped out of the door, Rusl turned to his old friend.

"I'll head back to Castletown and round up those friends of mine. Link will need all the help he can get, and those guards are useless."

"Sounds like a plan."

The two were silent for moment before Bo spoke back up.

"Do you think he'll still want to live here after all this is over?"

Rusl was silent as he thought about it.

"It's hard to say. I'm pretty sure it will be up to Kagome."

"I would understand if he doesn't, but I still hope he will."

Rusl nodded his head as he stepped out the door.

"Let me say goodbye to the wife and then head off. Have fun with the villagers."

Bo scoffed.

"You're a damn coward leaving me to do this myself Rusl, but we both know I'd do the same thing if our roles were reversed."

Rusl laughed as he made his way home.

Looking the village women who tried to look like they weren't eavesdropping, he made his way over to them.

"Start gathering everyone," he ordered with a solemn look on his face. "We need to have a town meeting."

The serious look on his face made the curious women hurry about gathering everyone they could find. When Bo felt as though everyone was there, he began the meeting.

Taking a deep breath, he spoke.

"It would seem that Link and Ilia will not be getting married."

He paused as the gathered crowd began muttering to themselves.

'This is going to be a long night,' he thought to himself.


	26. Hyrule Castle

Disclaimer: I still own nothing!

* * *

"Heh heh heh."

"Why are you acting like you're about to do something bad," Link warily questioned the imp by his side.

"Because I'm about to completely destroy this pathetic little barrier that's blocking our way into the castle."

Link nodded his head. With a gallant bow, he swept out his arm towards said barrier.

"If the lady would be so kind."

With a haughty sniff, Midna flies over to the castle gates and lands at the large doors. She looks back at Link as if to say something, when the three fused shadows appear and begin circling her and snap into place, forming a helmet. After a small struggle, Midna's body fall limp as the magic of her ancestors begins to take over. The power of the Twili seems to surround the immediate area as the helmet begins to shake with power. As if looking for a way out, the helmet begins bashing itself up along the surrounding walls, taking an unhappy Midna along for the ride. With one final leap, the helmet throws itself over one of the rooftops. A strong silence fills the air, before the ground begins to shake. A long glowing arm reaches across the rooftop and latches on. Using the roof as leverage, the arm pulls itself up to reveal an enlarged helmet. Another arm takes hold and pulls the rest of itself up.

Link's eye widen as he sees the giant monster the ancient helmet has turned Midna into.

A seemingly round body is surrounded by six attachments, including the two arms. With a great leap, the physical form of the ancient's power brings itself near the top of the diamond shaped barrier. After slipping a bit, the creature is able to stabilize itself before drawing on of its appendages back. The appendage curled itself around a giant spike the creature created out of pure magic. With a powerful thrust, the power of the ancients breaks through the barrier. As the two powers clash, a blinding light flares, completely destroying the barrier.

As Midna regains consciousness, she finds herself held by Link.

"You alright?"

"I'm fine." She paused as she felt something land on her nose. "When did it start raining?"

"Just after you brought down the barrier."

The two looked up at the unprotected castle, anticipating the battle ahead. Cautiously, they begin to make their way to the door that would lead them into the castle itself. Reaching out his hand, Link pulls on the large handle. Letting out a breath, he turns to the imp beside him.

"It's locked."

Midna rolls her eye.

"Of course it is." She looks around and sees a path leading to the western part of the grounds. "Let's try going that way."

Link shrugs in acceptance before making his way over. Peeking around the corner leading further into the grounds, they are not very surprised to see a large cluster of barricades. With no visible way to get through.

Midna growls in anger.

"This is just like the Gerudo Desert!"

Looking around, Links sees something that causes him to smile in a very 'bad little boy' sort of way.

"It _is_ like the desert, isn't it?"

Needless to say, Midna is a little worried.

Following his line of sight, she gets a lot worried.

"Don't even think about it!"

Link's smile just got bigger.

~* Two Minutes Later *~

"I TOLD YOU NOT TO THINK ABOUT IT!"

"I didn't!"

"Obviously!"

The two tore through the barricades with ease as they rode on the stolen bullbo.

Yes, you read that right.

Just like at Gerudo, some genius bokoblin left a loose bullbo right near the entrance.

Hence Link's happiness and Midna's panic.

Leaving a path of destruction in his wake, Link led the bullbo through the grounds before it fell over in exhaustion.

"Never again!"

"Admit it, that was fun."

"No, that recklessly stupid!"

"Like I said, fun!"

During their squabble, the two barely took note of the enclosed clearing they wandered into. Of course, they noticed when a barrier formed around them.

Midna gave Link a dry look.

"This was old a long time ago."

Nodding his head, Link looked up, waiting for some monsters to drop from the sky. A small earthquake brings his attention back to the ground.

"You have got to be kidding me!"

"This is almost as old, but not quite."

There, standing directly across from Link, was King Bulblin. Swinging his large weapon, he yells to Link.

"I have come to play!"

Link drew his sword and shield.

"How many times do I have to beat this guy?!"

His companion just shrugged and moved out of the way. Since he didn't have Kagome helping him this time, it was a little harder to fight. Thankfully, his large opponent had an equally large weapon, so it slowed him down enough for Link to have a decent advantage.

"Ahhhhhh!"

*crash*

"Ow, that hurt."

Hey, I said 'decent' advantage, not 'complete' advantage.

"You're supposed to dodge!"

"Really?! I thought I was supposed to get hit!"

More than a little upset, Link charged at his enemy once more.

Ducking under as the giant axe came at him, he was able to get behind King Bulblin and injure him enough to drop his weapon. Link puts himself on the defensive as his opponent turns to him and …smiles?

Link and Midna both stand there blinking in shock as King Bulblin limps past them. Just before reaching the door, he turns and looks at Link over his shoulder.

"I follow the strongest side! ...That is all I have ever known."

Tossing the castle key towards Link, King Bulblin leaves.

Midna and Link are still in shock, Midna even more so.

"Link... He...He spoke."

Link shook himself out of his stupor and retrieved the key.

"Let's get going, we're getting closer."

Going through the unlocked door, they enter a grand entryway. Large chandeliers hung from the ceiling, each resting above its own balcony.

Midna let out a whistle.

"Nice room, but how do you get out of it?"

The two looked around, hoping to find an exit.

"Well," began Link. "I imagine at one point that was a full set of stairs leading up."

The Princess of the Twili looked to the left, and sure enough, there sat a broken set of stairs.

"Now isn't that nice, how are we supposed…" She paused as an idea came to her. "Link?"

"Hm?"

"If you climbed up the stairs, would be close enough to latch onto one of those chandeliers?"

Pulling out his clawshot, he made his way over.

"Only one way to find out."

Climbing the stairs as far as he could, he took careful aim at the nearest chandelier and fired. The pull of his clawshot told him that the plan was a success.

The little imp was happy.

"Great! Let me check those balconies and see if I can find the door out of here!"

Link hung on as he heard the opening and shutting of various doors.

Finally, Midna returned.

"The third balcony looks like the one we want."

The young Hylian nodded as he reached for his second clawshot and took aim. In no time at all, he finally landed back on solid ground.

Rotating his stiff shoulders, he turned to Midna.

"Let's not do that again for a while."

He received a smile in response. Muttering under his breath about 'evil little imps', he opened the door and walked through.

~* Elsewhere within the Castle *~

A large figure sat upon an elaborate throne watching the warrior through an enchanted bauble, the upper half of his body obscured by shadows.

With an amused expression, he spoke into the shadows.

"I want you to go and greet our guests. Don't hurt them, just play for a bit and then return here."

Without a word, a figure within the shadows bowed and made their way out the door.

"I hope you enjoy your little surprise, Hero."

A cold laugh echoed throughout the room.

~* With Link *~

The room beyond the door turned out to be a curved hallway. The walls were covered in tapestries and portraits depicting the royal line of Hyrule.

"You know," began Link. "I'm surprised."

"About?"

"Well, usually when we enter an enemy stronghold, the bad guys are pretty quick to attack."

"And?"

"Not one enemy since we entered the castle."

"Are you complaining?"

"Not really."

"So why do you think we haven't been attacked."

"Isn't it obvious?"

"I'm afraid to ask."

"We've beaten everything we've come across. They're probably scared and hiding, or there are none left."

"Oh, really?"

"Yea…"

Link was interrupted by a kick to the face that had him skidding across the floor on his back.

Midna's sarcastic voice penetrated the fog covering his mind.

"Or maybe, they are waiting for you to let your guard down before attacking."

Using his hand to wipe the blood from his mouth, the blonde warrior brought himself back to his feet, a low growl sounding from his throat. Upon seeing the identity of his attacker, the growling stopped.

"Uh-oh."

Link paid no attention to the floating imp.

Kagome stood before him once more, looking more like a warrior than the last time he had seen her. Her legs were protected by a pair of black pants that clung to her like a second skin, which tucked into a pair of armor plated heeled boots that reached up to her knees. An open crimson skirt held up by an intricate armored belt rested low on her hips. The shirt she wore was made of the same material as her skirt. The shirt had a low collar and was sleeveless. Silver plating acted as armor that protected her shoulders and the back of her neck. Her left arm was covered in the same style armor that protected her legs, while a leather strap around her wrist was all that adorned her right arm.

Her face held no make-up, but a simple gold circlet with an inverted tip adorned her brow. In the center of the headpiece was a yellow sapphire, framed by two strands of hair. The ends of the circlet were hidden within her hair which was pulled back in a high ponytail, held back by a golden headpiece that resembled the sun.

Instead of the blood red eyes she held in the Twilight Palace, her eyes were a shadowed amber.

A loud screech brought Link's mind back to the task at hand.

'How did I miss that?!'

It would seem that while Link was busy 'checking out' the competition, he failed to notice the pretty little sword held in her right hand (look up Ganondorf's sword for this game and imagine it more feminine).

As if sensing that his mind had returned, Kagome picked up her speed and Link was barely able to block her sword with his shield. Drawing the Master Sword, the Hero Chosen by the Gods began to fight back. While she did not have a shield of her own, the gauntlet she wore was more than enough to deflect the half-hearted blows from her opponent. Following her master's orders, Kagome palmed a flash bomb in her hand. As Link's sword made contact with her arm once again, she threw out her arm, causing Link to stumble back. Taking advantage of his pause, she threw her bomb to the ground, enveloping the room in a bright light.

"Dammit!"

Link was seated on the floor, the heels of his palms digging into his eyes.

"Did she really have to do that?!"

"Of course she did, she wanted an easy get away."

"Not helping Midna."

"Just letting my opinion be known."

The Hylian sent a glare towards the imp. Heaving a sigh, he got back on his feet.

"Let's get going."

The floating imp followed.

Hiding behind a corner, Kagome waited for their footsteps to fade before opening a secret panel and entering the revealed passage.

~* Sometime Later *~

After many grueling hours of chandelier hopping and enemy bashing, Link and Midna finally made it to the large doors that would lead them to the throne room.

Midna turned toward her friend.

"This is it, you ready?"

"As ready as I'm going to be."

He turned to her with a smirk on his face.

"This would be so much easier if Kagome was fighting with us instead of against."

Midna snorted.

"No kidding. Those two times you fought, she seemed to smack you around pretty easily."

Giving her a dry look, Link looked towards the doors and pushed them open. Through the doors, they once more found themselves outside. The wind was blowing hard and the thunder was deafening. Slowly they made their way up the stairs to the castle's peak. The doors were open wide in invitation. Cautiously they entered. As they walked on the blue carpet of the room, they came across a stone woman's head, as big as Link. They looked up to see where it had come from and soon found its origin. A large monument of the Triforce, surrounded by the three Goddesses, stood tall. What lay within the hollow center of the golden triangle, made their breath hitch in their throats. Princess Zelda, looking for all world to be simply sleeping, was suspended within the Triforce.

Link moved to help her, but was stopped by Midna's tiny hand. Glancing at her, he saw her looking straight ahead. Moving his eyes forward, he saw the throne of Hyrule. And the two figures sitting upon it. A deep voice echoed throughout the cavernous room.

"Welcome to my castle."

A large man sat upon the red velvet of the throne. His skin was a shade of dark green that could be mistaken for black. The hair on his head and beard was a flaming orange-red. Upon his body, he wore black armor with gold trim. He sat upon the throne, leaning forward. One arm lay across his knee while the other held up his head upon its fist. A cruel smile decorated his face.

Kagome sat to right of him on one of the wide stone arms.

Her legs were crossed, left over right, with her left arm draped lazily across her lap. Her right hand supported her upper body as she gazed at the duo with an almost bored expression.

Since Midna was a princess herself, she decided to take over the diplomatic talks.

"So you're...Ganondorf."

The now named man stood tall. The two could now see the crimson cape adorning his shoulders, and the sword that glowed within in his hand. A mocking smile now adorned his face. Link saw Kagome follow Ganondorf's movements with her eyes, before returning her gaze to him and Midna.

Midna continued with a snarl.

"I've been dying to meet you."

Taking a few steps forward, the dark figure spoke.

"Your people have long amused me, Midna. To defy the gods with such petty magic, only to be cast aside... How very pathetic. Pathetic as they were, though, they served me well. Their anguish was my nourishment. Their hatred bled across the void and awakened me. I drew deep of it and grew strong again. Your people had some skill, to be sure...but they lacked true power."

He turned his body to the side and moved his gaze towards the unconscious form of Zelda.

"The kind of absolute power that those chosen by the gods wield."

Turning back towards his guests, he raised one of his hands so that the back of his hand faced them. They watched in shock as the Triforce appeared. The top triangle glowed more brightly than the others, indicating that he held the Triforce of Power.

"He who wields such power would make a suitable king for this world, don't you think?"

The Princess of Twilight scoffed.

"Ha! Such conceit! But if you are one of the chosen wielders of power, as you claim..."

A fire began to burn within her eye.

"I will risk everything to deny you!"

"Shadow has been moved by light, it seems...How amusing. Very well... Deny me, then! Yes, try to deny me... You and your little friend..."

With a blast of power, Midna was thrown from the room.

Ganondorf sat back down on the throne and signaled for Kagome to make her way towards Link, her sword in hand. The self-proclaimed dark King erected a barrier around the two; he had no plans to drop it until one was dead.

"Both of you, faithless fools who would dare to take up arms against the king of light and shadow...So you choose. And so you shall feel my wrath!"

Taking this as a signal, the two charged each other. Sweat covered their bodies and blood flowed from the wounds they inflicted upon each other. For just one moment, Link's guard fell, but it was enough. The possessed Kagome was able to dislodge the Master Sword from her opponent's hand, and at the same time knock him onto his back. It was a testament as to how fatigued his body was, when he was unable to get back up.

Kagome chose to ignore him for now, instead turning her attention on the fallen sword. Reaching down, she grabbed hold of the Sword of Evil's Bane and froze.

~* Kagome's Mindscape *~

"This getting really old, really fast!"

Dressed kimono much like the one she wore in Feudal Japan, Kagome paced within the cage she had been in since she awoke in that dungeon.

"When I get out of here, someone is going to get hurt."

Without warning, her cage disappeared. The landscape around her changed to match that of Kaede's village, just without the people.

Which she found real creepy.

"If this is some sort of trick, I will be _so_ not happy."

A voice came from behind her.

"This is no trick, young priestess."

Whirling around, she came face to face with a woman, slightly older than herself. The mark on her forehead was all she needed to identify her companion. Dropping to her knees and bowing low to the ground, she addressed the woman.

"Lady Midoriko, you honor me with your presence."

The elder priestess chuckled.

"There is no need to bow to me, I am here to help."

Kagome stood back up with a confused look on her face.

"How can you help me?"

"I can help free you mind from its imprisonment and restore your power for a brief period of time."

Kagome was a little hesitant.

"When this is over, will I have to leave?"

"The choice is up you. You can either stay here or return to your own world."

"How much time has passed back home?"

"Almost five years."

Kagome was silent as she thought about her choices.

"How have they been?"

"It took some time, but they eventually continued with life. Inuyasha and Sesshomaru both care for the Western Lands, and Inuyasha has been courting an ice demon. Sango and Miroku married and expecting their third child. Shippo stayed with them for a time before leaving for the Academy, he seems to have his eye on a young thunder demon named Souten. As for your family; your grandfather passed on a year ago," here she paused before continuing on. "Souta has different colleges vying for his attention for a soccer scholarship and your mother is being courted by an old friend of hers from her childhood."

Kagome smiled.

"Returning now would cause so much chaos and confusion. Besides, I think Link needs me more than they do."

Midoriko's face took on a soft expression. Bringing her hand up, she placed a single finger on Kagome's brow.

"I wish you luck and happiness in your new home."

The last thing Kagome felt, was her powers bursting forth.

~* Back in the Real World *~

More curious than concerned, Ganondorf released the barrier and made his way down to his puppet. Standing over her, he reached out his armored hand to shake her from whatever caused her to pause.

"Don't you touch her."

The snarl came from the Hero Chosen by the Gods.

When he saw Ganondorf approaching, he used whatever strength he could find to pull himself onto his knees. With a dark smirk, he held up one finger and proceeded to place it on her shoulder. The instant he touched her, a flare of power burst forth, filling up the whole room. Ganondorf was thrown back towards the open doors and Link fell over onto his back once more. Once the light disappeared, Link found himself healed and refreshed.

"What in the seven hells am I wearing?!"

Snapping his head over to where the voice came from, he saw Kagome looking down at herself. Not taking his eyes off her, he slowly stood and began making his way towards her. Seeing movement from the corner of her eye, Kagome lifted her head and saw Link walking her way. His pace soon sped up and in a few strides he had reached her and brought her into his arms.

"I'm glad you're back."

Kagome smiled.

"Glad to be back."

"Hey! I want a hug too!"

Link pouted as Kagome pulled away in order to embrace Midna.

"Have to say, as much as we missed you, it was funny watching you kick Link's ass every time you fought."

Eyes widening in shocked horror, she quickly looked up at him.

"I'm fine, don't worry about it."

Midna smiled before speaking.

"Well, now that that's over, let's get Zelda down and leave this place."

Getting two nods in agreement, they turned toward the throne and stopped short. Somehow, Zelda was taken from the monument and placed on the throne. She was still unconscious.

Link turned toward his companions and scratched the back of his head.

"I wonder how…"

His question was cut short as Kagome's face took on a look of horror. Quickly turning around, he drew his sword and shield. The place where Ganondorf had landed was surrounded by black magic, slowly changing his form. Kagome reached into Links pack and grabbed the bow and quiver and moved to stand beside him, bow ready to fire. Midna came to his other side and rested on his shoulder, giving him a wink.

As the transformation finished, a giant boar like beast stood before them. He charged at them, before disappearing. Portals began forming as they waited for him to reappear. They didn't have to wait long before he came charging once again. Seeing this reminded Kagome of something.

"Hey Midna?"

"Yeah?"

"Think you can toss big guy over here?"

What she was asking slowly dawned on the imp.

Link, however, was confused.

"What?"

"Just aim for that mark on his chest when we bring him down."

Midna changed Kagome into her wolf form before plopping on her back and fixing her hair into a giant hand. When the dark beast reached them, they were able to throw him to the side. Link rushed over and attacked the beast's chest. They used this pattern twice more before the he fell and stayed down.

Changing Kagome back, still in the same outfit, the three watched as Ganondorf's magic slowly ate away at his monstrous form. Their attention was diverted, however, when Midna began to glow white. Piece by piece, the strange light left her body and flew to the still body of Hyrule's princess.

Zelda's eyes opened, as the last of the light reentered her body.

Link and Kagome stood back as Midna floated over to her.

"Pr-Princess... I... I..."

Zelda shook her head, causing Midna to stop.

"Say nothing, Midna...Your heart and mine were as one, however briefly...Such suffering you have endured..."

A burst of fire caught their attention. From within the flames, formed Ganondorf's head. Everyone backed away from the site. Feeling the warmth of her power once more, Kagome moved in front of Link and held her hands out towards the fiery head and formed a pink barrier around him.

Catching Midna's eye, she nodded with a sad smile on her face. Floating beside her, Midna closed her eyes and focused on the power of her ancestors. Link's eyes widened in panic as he finally understood what they were doing. As if time itself slowed down, Link moved towards them with his hand outstretched, intent on stopping them. He was just about to grab Kagome's shoulder when he felt the familiar pull of Midna's magic transport him and Zelda away from the castle. The two women watched them leave with sad smiles.

Turning towards Kagome, Midna spoke.

"You know what's probably going to happen, right."

A single tear fell from Kagome's eye and made its way down her cheek.

"As long as he goes down with us, it's worth it, right?"

"Yeah."

With no words left, the both turned their attention on focusing their powers. Midna's form was once more replaced by the six legged creature. Floating into the air, the magic of the Twili formed a type of trident. Kagome focused on keeping Ganondorf's head in one place. Midna brought down her weapon with as much strength as her form could muster.

A large explosion was the last thing they saw.

~* After the Final Boss Fight *~

Ganondorf was finally defeated. Link and Princess Zelda felt as though this was a hollow victory.

Four balls of light from behind caught their attention. The lights slowly shaped themselves into the four Guardians of Light. They kept their focus on the ground in front of them and let their power flow. They turned and looked at the two Hylians before fading away.

Link squinted into the distance and could barely make two shadows. One of the shadows held a familiar shape.

Hoping against hope, Link ran up the hill as fast as he could, Zelda following at a more sedate pace. Reaching the top of the hill, Link's eyes found a figure in a large black cloak. Beside the cloak sat Kagome, back in her regular clothes. Not wasting anytime he ran and dropped to his knees before her. Bringing her into his arms once more, he tilted her head back and kissed her for as long as he could. Finally catching her breath, Kagome was able to speak.

"Aren't you going to say 'hi' to Midna?"

With a confused look, the blonde male looked over to where the large cloak was and dropped his jaw in shock. The imp he had come to know was gone, and in her place was a beautiful woman. He just sat there with his jaw hanging open until she spoke.

"What," she laughed. "Say something! Am I so beautiful that you've no words left?"

The laughter of Kagome and Zelda woke him from his shock. Soon, all four were laughing together as the sun set.


	27. Epilogue

AN: This is the end folks! Thank you for all of your reviews, favorites and follows. I hope everyone enjoyed the story and I hope to see you all again when I post my next story…whenever that will be.

Disclaimer: I own nothing!

* * *

Kagome was smiling as she sat in the swinging chair her husband had built for her when they found out she was pregnant.

Actually, he first built them a bigger house, and then came the swing.

With Bo's permission, Link had cleared out some land a little ways behind Sera's Shop and right beside a part of the pond that people cannot easily get to. As he was laying out the foundation, some of the village men who were able, came to help build.

The house was a single story with four bedrooms, a large kitchen/dining area, two bathrooms, a sitting room, a cellar and an attic. One of their favorite parts of the house was the covered porch that went around the front and around the left side of the house. Link really showed off his creativity by building a set of stairs that led to a dock.

Many of the fisherman of the village enjoyed using too. Since it was outside of town the women couldn't nag them about being careful around children and laundry.

Closing her eyes, she thought back to the events that took place after their adventure.

~* Flashback *~

Four figures stood atop the Arbiter's Grounds within the Gerudo Desert.

The first was Zelda, Princess of Hyrule.

Link and Kagome stood together, his arm wrapped around her waist.

The last person was Midna, Princess of the Twilight Realm.

They stood together talking and enjoy each other's company before Midna returned to her own realm. As twilight fell across the land, Midna stood before the activated Mirror of Twilight. She looked at her friends with a smile on her face.

"Well...I guess this is farewell, huh? Light and shadow can't mix, as we all know. But...Never forget that there's another world bound to this one."

It was Zelda who spoke next.

"Shadow and light are two sides of the same coin...One cannot exist without the other. I know now the reason the goddesses left the Mirror of Twilight in this world...They left it because it was their design that we should meet. Yes... That is what I believe."

The three women turned their heads as they heard Link snort.

"What?! I'm completely fine with meeting new friends, but next time you visit Midna, please leave the monsters at home."

Kagome elbowed him in his side as the other two chuckled. Kagome broke away from Link to give Midna a hug.

"I wish you didn't have to go so soon."

"Me neither, whose going to help you keep Link on his toes?"

Said male had a comment for that.

"She doesn't need help, don't give her any ideas."

Midna turned back to Zelda for her final goodbye.

"Zelda... Your words are kind, and your heart is true. If all in Hyrule are like you...Then maybe you'll do all right."

Stepping in front of the mirror, she activated the stairs.

"Thank you...Well, the princess spoke truly: as long as that mirror's around, we could meet again..."

Her eyes shut as a single tear slid down her cheek and float in the air. Bringing her hand up to it, she pushed it in the direction of the mirror.

"Link...Kagome…See you later..."

The tear floated through the air until it passed through the center of the Triforce engraved in the mirror. Almost instantly the mirror began to crack.

Hearing the sound, the three left looked at the mirror in shock before turning those same gazes towards Midna, who was already at the top of the steps. With one final look back, Princess Midna of the Twilight Realm returned to her home, just as the Mirror of Twilight was destroyed once and for all.

They stood there just staring at the great stone slab before Zelda used her magic to take them to the Great Hylian Bridge, where her carriage and Epona were waiting for their treks home.

Link and Kagome rode in a comfortable silence, just enjoying the natural sounds around them.

They had found out that, although the magic used to turn them into wolves was gone, they still retained some of the enhanced senses, such as sound.

"Link?"

"Hn?"

"The children are returning from Kakariko today, aren't they?"

"I believe so, why?"

"Because I think I hear a wagon and children's voices coming over the wooden bridge."

Stopping Epona, Link closed his eyes and listened. After a few moments, he opened them again.

"It's them alright," he stated. "Hold on."

That was all the warning he gave before putting Epona into a run. They moved through the forest back to Ordon. Stopping in front of his house, he let Kagome off.

"Where are you going?"

"To tell Bo that they're coming."

"And I'm staying here because…?"

A mischievous smile crossed his face.

"We don't want Ilia to see you yet; Bo wants to see how long she's going to drag this on before confessing."

A dark eyebrow went up.

"Well, by all means, have fun."

With a quick kiss, Kagome climbed up the ladder to Link's home as he rode into the village.

~* End Flashback *~

Kagome smirked as she remembered what had happened to Ilia.

It didn't take as long as they thought for her to admit to chasing away Kagome and lying about the wedding. Her father interpreted the saying 'If you've nothing nice to say, say nothing at all' into a fitting punishment. Ilia was not to speak to Kagome unless she spoke to her first, and even then, the conversation had to be polite. If Bo heard that Ilia was harassing Kagome about anything, especially Link, she would be banished from the village. Ilia did alright with her punishment; until Link and Kagome announced their engagement two months later.

The villagers were shocked at the words that came from the mayor's daughter.

The next day, Ilia left the village.

Four months later, Link and Kagome were married.

~* Flashback *~

Kagome was knelt in front of a full length mirror, watching as Uli and Sera fussed over her hair while Zelda watched with a smile on her face.

Her uchikake was white on the top and darkened into a lovely coral halfway down. Embroidered in a shimmering thread, hawks flew along the white expanse. The picture amongst the coral was of a forest scene with a stream running across. Worn beneath was a plain white kimono held together with a coral obi.

Kagome watched in the mirror as Uli pulled her hair back into a ponytail before pulling it into sections and artfully weaving it into a bun, leaving a few small sections to fall freely. Using water and a heated rod, Sera curled for sections of her hair into beautiful loose curls. The bangs that were long enough had been curled slightly and now framed her face.

Sera stepped away, opened a drawer and returned with a mahogany box.

"We had these made as a wedding gift and we thought you would like to wear them today."

Taking the box and placing it in her lap, the bride opened the box with a surprised gasp. Within the box lay a set of ebony hair sticks. Dangling from the broader end of each stick were two fine silver chains, the shorter chain held a jeweled flower made of soft pink tourmaline, while the shorter held a flower of amethyst. An emerald leaf rested on each chain.

With a tear in her eye, she turned to Sera.

"They're beautiful. I would be honored to wear them."

Uli took the box from the younger woman and held it out to Sera.

Taking out a single stick, Sera moved over to the left and inserted it diagonally, making sure the charms were free to dangle. Taking the other stick, she brought it down a good inch from the other and pushed it in a bit more that the other, allowing all the charms freedom of movement.

Her eyelids were colored in a light purple while a soft pink was applied in the space below her brow.

With a quick application of rouge, Kagome was ready to join her groom.

Uli and Sera left to join their husbands, leaving Kagome and Zelda to wait.

"Are you ready?"

The bride looked over to her friend. Without her crown and dressed in a simple pink kimono, Zelda looked like very different.

"As ready as I'll ever be."

The two giggled before a knock was heard. Zelda made her way to the door and looked back with a smile before leaving to join the rest of the village.

With a deep breath, Kagome stepped out the door of Sera and Hanch's house and with her head held high and hands held in front, she walked along the petal covered path to the small bridge, where her groom stood waiting.

The entire village was in attendance for this event, dressed in their best kimonos. An archway was placed at the foot of the bridge with Bo standing underneath, ready to officiate the ceremony. Standing beside him was Link.

His golden hair was left loose, allowing it to play with the soft summer breeze. His wedding kimono was a cream color, with brown hakamas covering his legs. His haori was a dark green.

The ceremony seemed to pass like a blur as the festivities went well into the night. The moon had almost reached its zenith before the couple was able to get back home.

~* End Flashback *~

A light blush dusted her cheeks as she remembered her first night with her husband.

Hearing a booming laugh in the distance drew her thoughts to Bo.

It had been almost two years after the wedding before Ilia sent her first letter to her father. In her letter she told her father about her marriage to a young Lord who resided outside of Hyrule. Bo's heart, which had begun to crack as he began to read the letter, completely broke as she finished her letter telling him that this would be the last he heard of her.

The callousness of his daughter drove the kind giant into a state of depression that the villager's all tried to help him overcome. It was almost a month later when his heart felt enough joy to begin piecing itself together.

~* Flashback *~

Kagome lay on the bed she shared with her husband; her stomach was in pain and sweat was covering her body, causing her hair to stick to her skin.

Link was kneeling on the floor beside her with her hand held within his own, using a cool cloth to wipe at her forehead.

Uli and Sera were bustling around the room in preparation of the event to come.

When these components were brought together, it meant one thing.

"DAMN YOU FOR DOING THIS TO ME! YOU ARE NEVER TOUCHING ME AGAIN, DO YOU HEAR ME?!"

Kagome was in labor.

Some of the villagers decided to camp out in front of the house, waiting for the birth. Close friends of the family waited in the sitting room.

Some of the men were having a good laugh at the abuse being shouted at the new father, having been on the receiving end themselves.

It was a grueling sixteen hours before the wailing of a child was heard. Only a minute had passed before the shouting returned.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN 'THERE'S ANOTHER ONE'?!"

Forty minutes later, a second wail was heard.

After allowing the new mother time to clean up a bit and rest, people were allowed to come in and see the babies.

Among the first was Bo.

Seeing him enter, Link looked up from the tiny figure in his arms and looked towards his wife, who gave him a nod with a smile on her face. Standing up, Link motioned for Bo to sit. With a confused look on his face, he did. Link passed the baby in his arms over to the sitting man.

"Ok Grandpa, this one is Isamu."

Tears began to form in the giant man's eyes as Link turned and gently removed the second bundle from his wife.

"And this is Syaoran."

It was on that day that the Mayor of Ordon received his most precious title.

~* End Flashback *~

A tear trailed down her cheek as she remembered her first pregnancy.

Three and a half years later, she gave birth to their third child. A daughter named Moriko, who was now four years old.

The twins had their father's golden hair and skin tone and their mother's soft features. Their eyes were their most unique feature. Isamu's left eye held his father's blue while his right was the same amber as his mother's. Syaoran's was the opposite. Which everyone was glad about as it made telling them apart that much easier.

Moriko, on the other hand, had her mother's raven hair and pale skin while taking her blue eyes from her father. She shared her features with both of her parents.

Hearing the laughter of her children, the former Guardian of the Jewel opened her eyes to watch her family make their way home.

And promptly burst in to laughter.

The two boys had patches of mud scattered in various places of their clothing while their hands and bare feet were completely covered. Link was walking behind them carrying a large ball of mud with blue eyes on his hip; little muddy handprints covered his white shirt.

"What happened," she asked her husband with a smile.

"We were down at Rusl and Uli's house when Moriko saw a frog on the bank and decided that she wanted it for a pet."

"And the twins?"

"They were trying to help her catch it."

The ball of mud began wiggling, demanding to be let down. Walking up to her mother, Moriko proudly showed off her new pet.

"What a cute frog."

Moriko giggled.

Link drew his children's attention back towards him.

"Alright you three, get inside and get ready for a bath."

Three pairs of feet ran inside, leaving behind little footprints. Walking up to his wife, he bent over and gave her a kiss. He then kneeled in front of her and kissed her protruding stomach.

"I trust you've been good for your mother?"

Kagome giggled as she watched Link hold an imaginary conversation with their unborn child.

Their little moment was interrupted by a crash.

"Froggy!"

"Catch it!"

"It's going into Mom and Dad's room!"

*CRASH*

"We're ok!"

"The chairs not, though!"

Kagome giggled behind her hand as Link dropped his head gently onto her stomach. With a long suffering sigh, Link rose to his feet and went to see how much damage the kids did to the house. Kagome watched her husband enter the house with a smile on her face. Facing forward once more, she watched as the evening twilight spread across the land.

Hearing a small croak beside her, she saw the little frog her daughter brought home. Slowly reaching down, she gently scooped it up into her hands. Rising herself up from her seat, she made her way into the chaos she called home.


End file.
